Orange City
by hannymae
Summary: She was arrogant and selfish, and was still recovering from the fall off her pedestal. In a coward's move, she fled from Miyagi to Tokyo, where things started spiralling out of control. Somehow, a cat or 2 start to wedge their way into her life when all she wants to do is survive school with the ghost of her dead cousin hovering over her shoulder. [UNDERGOING REWRITE AND HIATUS]
1. Doors Opened

_**A/N: The first edited chapter of the rewrite. Enjoy!**_

 _ **Genre: Romance/Friendship/Supernatural(?)/Coming of age**_

 _ **Summary:**_

 ** _She was arrogant and selfish, and was still recovering from the fall off her pedestal. In a coward's move, she fled from Miyagi to Tokyo, where things started spiralling out of control. Somehow, a cat or two start to wedge their way into her life when all she wants to do is survive school with the ghost of her dead cousin hovering over her shoulder._**

 ** _A spinoff of "Kindergarten Bully". You should probably read that one first to get the gist of some things. Or, you can not read it and just read this instead._**

* * *

 _Red, yellow, and green exploded in the sky, the sheer magnitude of brightness momentarily blinding her. All around her, people cheered and shouted, lifting bottles of alcoholic beverages (and some non-alcoholic) into the air. Her ears buzzed with the combined noise of the people's whooping and the bangs of the fireworks._

 _She breathed out a small sigh, leaning into the side of the person behind her, her orange hair free from its usual braid and fanned out across the damp grass._

 _She felt fingers weave through her hair, and shifted her gaze to meet Jang Shinwoo's black eyes._

 _"Yeah?" she asked, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks. "What is it?"_

 _"You… look really nice, tonight," he said, going red as well as he tried to avoid her amaranth gaze._

 _She released a small sigh through her nose before sitting up. "Thanks, I guess." Across the grassy plain, she could see two figures sitting close to one another. One person's head was propped on the other's shoulder—the perfect representation of a happy, intimate couple._

 _"I'm serious, you know," Shinwoo said bluntly, regaining her attention, "I don't give out many compliments to people. You should know that by now, Rin."_

 _"Oh, trust me, I do. Unless tiramisu is involved," she muttered, positioning her arms on either side of her and grabbing two fistfuls of grass. Shinwoo replied, but Rin was far away again, observing that couple in the distance._

 _The two people perked up when a third person joined them, holding drinks. The three of them laughed at something the newcomer said before accepting the beverages._

 _"What's wrong?" Shinwoo asked her, but she did not hear. Following her gaze, his eyes softened ever so slightly._

 _"Shut up, Makoto," Rin suddenly said, turning her head to the side. "I don't need your input. Don't you have other festival-goers to haunt?"_

 _Shinwoo relaxed, knowing what—or rather, who—she was talking to. "You know, people are going to think you're crazy one day."_

 _"Honestly?" Rin turned to him, frowning, and Shinwoo did not miss the way she momentarily turned back to observe the other couple. "I think I'm already crazy."_

 _"Yeah," Shinwoo said. "You'd have to be. I know I'd be too."_

* * *

"Welcome!"

Ryouta Rin stepped into her new home in Tokyo, careful to avoid her Aunt Masami's plump belly as the latter held the door open for the former with one thick arm. In her other arm, she held her youngest child, a brown-haired boy called Jiro. He was three and seemed to be deadpanning at everyone and everything at all times.

"It's a bit cluttered in here," Masami said apologetically, pressing her large body against the wall to allow Rin to drag her wheeled suitcases into the house. The place wasn't very big for Rin; she was used to living in far bigger places.

"It…" Rin started. She smiled. "It smells great in here." Indeed it did, and Masami blushed at the compliment.

"Thank you, dear. That would be my apple pie cooking in the oven. I put it in there before I left for the airport."

 _Is that safe?_ Rin wondered.

Seemingly reading her thoughts, Masami went on, "I left my oldest in charge. You'll meet him soon enough, he's probably doing his homework upstairs."

"Then how could he possibly be looking after the pie?" Rin demanded, sweatdropping.

"Ohoho! I like you already, my wonderful niece." Masami sighed wistfully. "So much like your mother… yet, so different as well."

Unsure if it was a compliment or not, she merely stood awkwardly in the hallway. Thankfully, Masami relieved her by sending her upstairs to unpack.

"That pie will be ready any minute," Masami promised, "Unpack as much as you can and go change into something more comfortable!"

"Right."

After hauling all of her luggage into her new room, she undressed, randomly grabbing a shirt from one suitcase. As she was putting it on, the door swung open, and a tall, tall boy stood in the doorframe.

"You must be my new onee-chan!" he declared, grinning. He cried out when she hurled a brush at him.

"Get out of here! Can't you see I'm not decent?!"

"Okay, okay! Geez!" Huffing, the boy shut the door.

If Rin remembered right, that would be Kohaku Makoto, her cousin.

"It's been a long time," she said to herself, keeping one eye on the door, just in case he decided to let himself in again. "I haven't seen that idiot kid since grade school…"

After putting on her shirt, she went downstairs, and was instantly greeted by Makoto, who was sitting at the table with a half-eaten slice of apple pie.

"Onee-chan," he said, grinning as brushed a few crumbs off his mouth. "I can call you that, right?"

"Please don't," Rin deadpanned, sitting opposite him on the medium-sized dining table. "I'm not that much older than you, dumbnut."

"Wow, that was harsh." Makoto placed a hand over his heart. "What year are you going into? I'm a first year."

"Second year," Rin said half-heartedly. When Masami joined them, leaving Jiro in the living room with the television on and putting a plate of apple pie in front of Rin, the girl thanked her aunt.

"Nice," Makoto said through a mouthful of pie. "Just a reminder though. Every school has its bastards, and there happen to be a couple at Nekoma."

"Yeah?" Rin poked at her apple pie with a fork, noting with a small amount of disgust that Makoto was using his hands to eat the pie. "Thanks for the warning. You sure you're not one of them?"

"Hey! I'm a gentleman."

"He is," Masami vouched for her son before smacking his hand. "Also, don't swear in my house."

"Sorry, kaa-chan." Then Makoto turned to Rin. "What's up with you? Just use your hands. You eat like a total priss."

"Excuse me?" Rin, affronted, glared at him. "Unlike you, I was raised right." She coughed, flushing. "No offence, oba-chan."

"None taken, none taken," Masami said amiably, "Your mother and I… we value different things in life."

They made small talk across the table, getting to know each other. At the end of their meal, Rin learned that Masami's culinary skills weren't limited to apple pie and that Makoto was a basketball prodigy with a knack for getting flirty with girls.

"So to speak, you're a pervert," Rin amended when he whispered that particular part to her. Masami had gone into the kitchen to scrub their empty plates.

"Shh! Not so loud! Besides, if you really knew me, you'd know why." Masami returned and Makoto jumped out of his seat, sliding his phone out and reversing the camera. "Family selfie! Come on, prissy sissy sis!"

"What did you just call me?!" Rin slammed her hands on the table, pushing her seat back. "You little—"

"Language!"

Grumbling, Rin entered the photo just as Masami left the frame to fetch Jiro. She came back a moment later, her three year old son in her arms. Jiro deadpanned into the camera, a stark contrast to Masami and Makoto's bright, lively smiles.

Rin smiled uncertainly. Just before Makoto pressed the button, Jiro suddenly grabbed her face.

"Onee-chan," he said, tripping over a syllable.

"Ack! Jiro—!"

The camera of the phone clicked and there was a mad scramble on Rin's part to try and see what the photo looked like. She grimaced when she saw that Jiro's chubby hand was covering most of her face. Only the right side of her face could be seen, her lips drawn back in a shout and her right eye wide with surprise.

"It's hideous," Rin complained, but Makoto wasn't hearing any of it.

"Nuh uh!" he said, wagging a finger in her face. She slapped his hand away and he pouted. "Everybody else looks really good, so no retakes!"

"You son of a—"

Masami cleared her throat and Rin clammed up instantly.

Later, Makoto managed to get a good quality scan of the image taken on his phone, and did not hesitate to shove it in Rin's face.

"Stop that!" she snapped, "You don't have to remind me of how much of a Shrek I am!"

"This is going in the family photo albulm," Makoto declared.

Rin looked to her aunt for help, but Masami simply smiled and readily agreed with her eldest son's suggestion. Sighing, Rin folded her arms.

"It could be worse, I guess," she said to herself as she rolled her eyes at Masami and Makoto.

* * *

Just days later, they were dead. A car accident. There'd been a drunk driver involved.

Rin resolved to stay away from alcohol. It wasn't a very strong one, but she was underage anyway, and wasn't looking to have a criminal record attached to her name anytime soon. Or ever, really.

A hasty funeral was arranged by Rin's mother, Masami's sister, a socialite through and through. It rained throughout the service and did not stop when Rin was escorted to her mother's limousine.

"Oh, my dear daughter!" her mother wept, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. "I'm so, so sad... Whatever shall we do? I know you don't want to come back to Miyagi. You wouldn't mind living in your aunt's home by yourself, would you? Jiro needs you!"

For a split second, Rin considered calling out her mother on her insane bullshit. But she kept quiet; it was for the best. _What kind of responsible mother would let their seventeen year old daughter look after a three year old by herself?!_ she screamed inside her head. Oh, but wait. This was _her_ mother. _Right,_ she thought with no small amount of bitterness, _I'd almost forgotten._

"Yeah, sure," she said blankly, staring at her wet shoes, the rest of her attire still dry thanks to the umbrella one of her mother's assistants was holding over her. He was a man with a silver mustache. Rin briefly recalled him sneaking her the last slice of blueberry pie back at their summer villa, when she had been younger. When the world had been her oyster, because she'd been told there was nothing that couldn't be done with the right amount of hard work, dedication, and effort.

They arrived at the front of Masami's humble home, where Rin was dropped off in the rain. Her mother reached out of the car, holding her day book over her coiffed locks to defend her perm from the rain.

Rin's mother had been more than happy when she agreed to living by herself and looking after Jiro, and the woman expressed her joy by pinching her daughter's cheeks. It was brief—she didn't want to get her sleeves too wet. "Oh, dearest, you're growing up so fast! I'm sure you can handle it. I'll have Hanako drop by every Thursday to check up on you, okay?" Her mother glanced down at the watch on her wrist. "Oh, look at time! I simply must head off. I have another social to attend. I'll see you next time, pumpkin pie!"

The car zoomed off, the tires spinning and spraying water all over Rin's front. As the wetness seeped through her clothes and chilled her skin, she deadpanned at the house opposite the street, where an elderly man lived. Sometimes, she saw him peering through his curtains with a pair of binoculars. There was no sign of him today, likely because of the heavy downpour.

Her feet squelching in her shoes, she trudged to her front door, fumbling with her keys.

"Fuck this," she hissed as her keys slipped out of her hands for the nth time. Her fingers were trembling from a combination of frustration and the cold. "ARGGGH!" She let loose a shrill scream, stamping her foot on the sopping welcome mat.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a concerned Masami stood opposite Rin. Then the woman smiled, albeit sadly.

"Come inside," Masami beckoned, reaching out for Rin before thinking better of it. "I made apple pie."

"I've always preferred blueberry," Rin said lamely, entering the house. The door shut behind her. "I'm going to take a shower first."

"Of course. You're all wet, dear! Take all the time you need."

Rin resisted the urge to hug her aunt, knowing she would just phase through if she tried. "Thanks, oba-chan."

* * *

She hadn't always been able to see ghosts. In fact, she only started seeing them after Masami and Makoto died. Not to mention that they were the _only_ ghosts that she was able to see. Or maybe there just weren't many ghosts haunting the metropolis that was Tokyo.

When she saw her dead family members for the first time, it was only natural for her to presume that she had dreamed up the past days and that her aunt and cousin were actually still alive.

Then came the freak out, when she passed through Makoto for the first time while trying to tackle him to get him to drop her bra (the pervert was still a pervert even in the afterlife apparently). She learned something new when that happened: while ghosts could not make physical contact with humans, they could still physically interact with the environment. They could pick up a pencil and draw something or pick up the remote and turn on the television for some good old basketball.

Which meant that Masami was still doing the cooking around the house. Thank god for that, because Rin couldn't cook to save her life. But she did, however, have to feed Jiro, which would have probably broken her heart had her aunt and cousin not been around.

She soon got used to the supernatural antics, much faster than she thought she would have gotten accustomed to. By the time their funeral rolled around, she had gotten completely adjusted to their presence. It was like they'd never left.

"You know, I bet everyone at school's missing me," Makoto bragged that Sunday night as he and Masami watched Rin feed Jiro. As they were ghosts, it wasn't necessary for them to eat. "I had a lot of fangirls, you know. Since you're taking my family surname to Nekoma, you might get mobbed by my fans."

"They probably would have thrown a parade when they heard the news, you pervert," Rin said snidely as Jiro swallowed his food, gurgling happily.

"Ouch! You hurt my beating heart."

Rin snickered. "No comment."

"No fighting on the dinner table," Masami scolded. "Otherwise there won't be any apple pie for dessert."

"Can ghosts even eat food? Wouldn't it just pass through?" Rin asked.

"I'm still pretty new at this ghost stuff, but I don't think so," Masami answered. "Nothing else passes through us except living, breathing humans. Or animals. Just things that are alive."

"Do plants count?"

Masami shrugged. "I don't know. There aren't many plants in Tokyo anyway, so I wouldn't worry."

"Man, this is so weird," Rin sighed, "I feel like I'm dreaming but..." She pinched herself. "This is real."

"Get used to it," Makoto said with a smug look on his face. "Because you're stuck with us. By the way, I'm coming to school with you."

"Huh?!" Rin scowled. "Why? You're dead already. What are you even going to do there? Hang out with your friends? They can't see you, you know. Not even Jiro can."

"Ghost!" Jiro gurgled. "Ghost!"

Makoto stuck his tongue out at Rin, who glared before doing the same to him.

"You two are honestly so immature," Masami sighed before getting the empty plates and dishes and putting them in the sink. "Rin, you should probably go shower and sleep now. It's getting quite late and you have school tomorrow."

"Yes, oba-chan," Rin replied, getting out of her seat and heading upstairs. "Don't you dare peek on me."

Makoto yawned obnoxiously. "Whatever. Not like there's anything to look at anyway."

"You prick!"

"Prick! Prick!" Jiro chanted, oblivious to the laughing ghost of Makoto.

"Great, now oba-chan is going to kill me," Rin muttered before disappearing up the stairs. "Hooray, we can be a family of ghosts together..." _Jiro is pretty damn lucky not to see ghosts. Being a little kid must be really easy._

She paused in her train of thought as she undressed in the bathroom, the door locked shut so that neither ghost nor living person could intrude.

 _Or not._

* * *

There was a shrine in the main hall that wasn't there before, Kenma noted as he entered his classroom and sat down, occupying himself with his PSP. Even as he slayed monsters and leveled up, he couldn't help but have his thoughts wander back to the shrine that either his schoolmates or some teachers had put up. It was in memory of a student that had died recently—just over the weekend actually. Kohaku Makoto, if Kenma could remember correctly. He had been some popular womanizer in the first year that had also been a basketball player.

Kenma slayed another monster in his game.

Life went on.

"Where's Akane?" he heard one student ask another. The first year Aishi Akane often came into their classroom for no particular reason.

"You mean the weird girl? I heard she transferred over to some country bumpkin school."

"Nah, bro, I heard it was a really prestigious school in Miyagi."

Kenma tried not to pay them any mind, but considering that the dead first year boy had thrown the slightest wrench in his morning routine, it was harder than he expected.

"Really? What school? Shiratorizawa?"

"I think it was Aobajosai."

"Hah! Poor guys. Having to deal with the weird girl."

"I heard we're getting another student in our class today. Hopefully she's nothing like Akane."

"Maybe she's hot!"

Kenma stopped gaming and put his console away. The teacher would be coming soon. He knew because their teacher always arrived two minutes and eighteen seconds after the bell went, allowing students to socialize for a bit longer. Not that Kenma was interested in any of that.

As usual, Chinatsu-sensei was late by those precious two minutes and eighteen seconds. Kennma looked up at the clock. Nineteen seconds, this time. Chinatsu was a woman in her thirties who was still painfully single and had an odd fascination with bath bombs. She could be eccentric at time, but Kenma didn't mind. After spending months with her—she was their homeroom teacher—Kenma had become rather... desensitized to her habits and occasional rants.

"Okay, everyone," Chinatsu said, smiling at all students. "We have a new student coming into our class today. Please treat her with the same respect you would treat yourself with, okay? You can come in now!" she yelled to the side, where a girl was lingering at the doorway. In her position, she couldn't be clearly seen. All Kenma could make out was some bright orange hair. Slowly, as if she were afraid or shy—and she could be for all Kenma knew—the girl stepped into the classroom, stopping next to the teacher and turning to face the front.

The mystery girl did indeed have bright orange hair, which she wore in a loose, thick fishtail braid. Even brighter than Hinata's if that were even possible. Kenma stared at her hair for a good few seconds before taking his gaze somewhere else. Like the blackboard.

"My name is Kohaku Rin," she said steadily, taking in every single one of their faces. Her gaze stopped on Kenma a few seconds longer than it did everyone else. Her eyes were a pretty shade of red—amaranth? Possibly. "Please take care of me."

"You may call me Chinatsu-sensei, Kohaku-san. Please take a seat behind Kozume Kenma," Chinatsu ordered, her eyes going just a little bit gloomier as she recognized the last name. "It's the last seat in the last row by the window."

"Yes, sensei."

"Wait!" one boy had lifted his hand up as he spoke. "Can't we ask her some questions? She barely said anything about herself."

"Alright, as long as they're not too personal or silly," Chinatsu allowed. "Is that alright with you, Kohaku-san?"

"It's fine," Rin assured her, a gleam in her eyes. Kenma couldn't quite make out what kind of glimmer it was. Was she antsy? Excited? Kenma narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. Frustrated, perhaps? "Ask away."

One student instantly jumped at the opportunity. "What kind of guys do you like?" he asked, a shit-eating grin on his face.

"I'm not interesting in seeing anyone at the moment."

"O-oh..." Dejected, the male student put his hand down. "Man... she's cute as well..."

"What do you in your time then?" a female student asked rather obnoxiously.

"I practice my music," Rin said simply, lifting an eyebrow ever so slightly. As if she'd never considered the possibly of there being anything else important in life. She looked like she wanted to say something else, but restrained herself.

"We have time for one more question," Chinatsu informed then, "then we'll have to get started with the roll and announcements."

One girl lifted her hand up, pure curiosity in her yellow gaze. "Kohaku-chan, are you related to Kohaku Makoto?"

"Kenshin-chan!" Chinatsu reprimanded, "What did I say about personal and invasive questions—"

"It's okay, sensei, I will answer," Rin interrupted, giving her teacher a sidelong glance before answering, "Yes, he and I are related."

"Oh," the girl—Kenshin Saki—mumbled, looking ashamed. "I'm sorry for your loss."

For a second, Kenma could have sworn that Rin looked almost confused. But if she had been, she quickly recovered. "Erm, yes. Thank you. Can I go sit down now?" she added hurriedly.

"Sure thing. That was the last question anyway," Chinatsu said, gesturing to the empty seat behind Kenma.

As Rin made herself at home, Kenma put his head down and pretended to be focused on his textbook, not really wanting to have anything to do with the girl whose brother had recently passed away in a car accident.

He could hear her curse like a drunken sailor as she repeatedly searched for and failed to find her pencil case. Then she started talking. To him or someone else, he couldn't tell.

* * *

"Where the hell is it?!" Rin hissed softly, just about ready to flip her desk over in a massive rage quit.

"Kukuku," Makoto laughed as he sat on her desk leisurely. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Okay, asshole, what have you done with it?"

"I haven't done anything!" Makoto denied, grinning. "Have you tried the front pocket though?"

No, she hadn't. Grumbling, Rin unzipped the front pocket of her bag and found her missing pencil case. "I know you're behind this."

"Ah, prissy sissy sis..." the ghost tutted in mock disappointment. "You know, it's always going to be in the last place you look."

"Of course it is, dummy! Why else would I keep looking for it if I already found it!" Rin froze when her frustrated voice echoed throughout the classroom. Pretty much everyone was openly staring at her now. Coughing, Rin put her head down. "Sorry."

Makoto hopped off the desk and laughed. "Man, you're such a hoot! I can't wait to tell kaa-chan about this!"

"Shut up, Makoto," she muttered, not knowing that the boy in front of her—Kozume Kenma—could hear everything she was saying.

"Makoto?" the boy uttered under his breath, making sure that Rin was unaware that he had even spoken. " _Kohaku_ Makoto?"

Kenma could only come to one conclusion: Kohaku Rin was weird as heck and he would do all that he could to stay the hell away from her.


	2. First Impressions

_It's pretty simple, pretty obvious: that people's first impressions of people are really a big mistake._

— _Vincent D'Onofrio_

* * *

Kohaku Makoto took a deep breath as he picked up a stray, beaten up basketball. It'd been a lovely orange once upon a time. But now, Makoto couldn't even begin to describe its appearance, the thing a cross between smoky gray and dirty orange.

Having been bored to death during Rin's classes—he'd been a first year when he died, so he didn't recognize any of the content her teachers were covering—he'd gone outside to entertain himself.

He glanced around, tensing when he noticed a school cleaner standing by the outside hallways, picking up pieces of trash that some particularly careless students had left behind. Makoto could only see the man's head; there was a shallow slope between them, the basketball court being on the lower end of the bank.

Experimentally, he bounced the ball in his hand, the sound dull and unimpressive. The ball didn't bounce very high. It was probably why the owner abandoned it in the first place.

 _Shame,_ Makoto thought, _This thing has a lot of rich history._ He continued to dribble the ball before moving to the right and performing a bank shot. It flew through the hoop with ease after bouncing once against the backboard. The entire system wobbled momentarily as Makoto picked up the ball again, shooting another hoop just seconds later.

He glanced in the direction of the janitor again, and found that the elderly man was heading toward him. Dropping the basketball and rolling it under a bench with his foot, Makoto walked right past the man, thankful that he hadn't seen a floating basketball being tossed around.

Makoto loved the feel of the small recesses in the basketball that came from wear and tear. It felt like he was holding an unbreakable relic in his calloused hands—his calloused _dead_ hands.

He grimaced as a dark cloud drifted over his previously elated mood.

 _Right,_ he thought sardonically, _I'm dead, aren't I?_ Cupping his hands together, he called out, "Hello?! Can anyone hear me?!"

The lunch bell rang and students began to file out of their classrooms, chattering happily, Makoto deflated.

He perked up a little when Rin appeared from the crowd of students, heading straight for him. She was holding a juice box in her hand, on the verge of crushing it as she sucked up the last of the beverage.

"Why the hell were you shouting?" she demanded, placing one hand on her hip. A few students glanced at her, and Makoto beckoned her aside to a more private location, where they could freely talk without Rin being judged.

"Because," Makoto said, feigning indifference, "I wanted to."

"You're incorrigible. Were you hoping that someone other than me would hear you?" Rin sighed, and Makoto could have sworn she grew a decade older in the span of a few seconds. "Makoto... what were you hoping for?"

"I..." Makoto trailed off, wringing his hands and frowning. "Soomi."

Rin blinked. "What."

"Soomi's been my friend since childhood," Makoto explained, passing a hand through his sandy hair. "We went to church together as kids, and," he swallowed, "I was going to confess to her."

"... Oh." Rin frowned at him. "Makoto, I believe this is the part where I call you a dumbnut. You and Soomi... you can't be together, and you _know_ that. So why?"

"Why?" His voice rose. "Why shouldn't I, Rin? She... I've liked her since I was six! And I never even got to confess—"

"Don't be ridiculous," she said cuttingly, her frown growing flatter, and Makoto did a double take at her sharpness. "How could that _ever_ happen? Be realistic for a second here, Makoto. It'll never happen, so what's the point of even trying?"

"I already told you!" he shouted, feeling anger sweep him off his feet. "She's the girl I like! I can't... I can't stand the thought of not being with her."

"... Well, then you're in for a huge letdown. Get real. It's the only way you'll come out of life intact." _Dream small or not at all. The world isn't your oyster, Makoto. And you'd do your best to remember that. I know I did._

"Fuck that," Makoto snarled, his eyes burning. "Fuck your stupid ideologies. I don't care if I'm dead. That doesn't give me an excuse not to try." With that, he stormed off somewhere, and Rin let him.

"That dumbass," she seethed. "He... argh!" Grumbling, she turned on her heel and went back toward the main building block, and back to her classroom, where she'd left her bento. She found herself craving another juice, for chose to forgo it. The vending machines felt too far away.

Sullenly, she plopped down in her seat and took out her lunch, something that Masami had prepared dutifully for her. As she ate, she noted irrelevantly that Kenma was no longer in his chair.

She had nearly finished eating when a girl with bleached white hair and electric yellow eyes approached her. Rin looked up. "Can I help you with something?" Her demand was rude, but that couldn't be helped as she was still silently seething from her argument with Makoto.

"Kenshin Saki," she introduced herself. "And you're Kohaku Rin."

Rin raised an eyebrow. _Where is going with this?_

Saki grinned, arms akimbo. "You do music, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I belong to the band club," Saki said chipperly, smiling. "It's actually newly formed, believe it or not, and I want to invite you to join." She sweatdropped. "So far, me and Soomi are the only members... normally, you need at least five members to form a club but the principal was feeling kind..."

"Soomi, huh?" Rin looked out the window, looking past her reflection and to the outside basketball court, where a bunch of boys were playing. _Makoto's childhood friend from church._

"Uh, yeah? You know her or something?" Saki blinked at her curiously, tilting her head to one side.

"No, I don't," Rin said shortly. She turned back to face Saki. "Thank you for your offer, but I have to decline." _Leave me alone. Please._

"Hah?! Why not?" Saki whined, placing her palms on Rin's table. "Is it because you secretly suck? Because we're not that great either, so it's totally fine."

"I-I—" Rin stammered, not really knowing how to respond. The old Rin would have snapped and stuck her nose up into the air. She still did it with Makoto, actually. "No. That's not it. I'm fairly confident in my talent as a musician, actually. I just don't want to join your... club."

"Pah!" Saki scoffed, glaring at her before walking away. "Whatever, who needs you anyway..." She tried to seem nonchalant about it, but Rin had the feeling that things weren't over between them yet.

As Saki disappeared somewhere, Rin felt a twinge of regret. _The band club, huh?_ The last time she'd been in a band, it had ended in a less than ideal way. She'd blamed that black-haired girl with the violin (for she and her sister had talent that rivaled hers and she hadn't liked it), but it was ultimately one boy who had changed her from that domineering cow of a woman.

Rin's knuckles whitened as she tightened her grip on her chopsticks.

 _Oikawa Tooru. The guy from all the magazines that the girls back home liked. You've changed me. And I hate that._

* * *

"... And you also have the option of joining the boy's volleyball team as a manager!" Chinatsu finished listing out all her club opportunities.

It was after school and Makoto still hadn't shown his ugly face, so Rin had dithered around a bit before heading to the staff room to get some club recommendations from her homeroom teacher.

"Alright," Rin said slowly, "Thanks, sensei. How much time do I have to think over this?"

Chinatsu shrugged. "In Nekoma, clubs aren't mandatory so you can have all the time you want. There are more clubs, but most of them are closed off to newcomers because they already have a full house."

Rin nodded. "Okay then..." _There's no way I'm joining the band club. It'll just be a repeat of Shiratorizawa. And none of the clubs sound very interesting... except the boy's volleyball club. But there's no way I'm going to hang out with a bunch of sweaty boys. Makoto is enough to deal with and he doesn't even sweat._

"I don't think I'll join a club if this is all there is," Rin decided in the end. "But thanks anyway, again. I'll see you tomorrow, sensei."

"Oh, well, okay then! Have a nice afternoon!"

When she arrived at the front gate, she saw Makoto waiting for her there, arms crossed.

"Hey," Rin greeted half-heartedly, sidling up next to him. "Are you done with your little tantrum?"

"If you don't shut up, I'll start again," Makoto warned.

"Whatever."

They were cool now.

"There's a really good coffee shop around the corner," Makoto told her, "they're currently looking for someone to entertain the four o'clock crowd." He sighed. "I got the job but... you know."

Rin raised an eyebrow. "What was your act?" _I thought he was only good at basketball._

"A ventriloquist act! I made a dummy and everything. Mini-Me."

"God, that already sounds creepy. Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I've heard you sing before. You're wicked good."

Rin smirked slightly. If there was one thing she loved, it was being praised. A quality that hadn't left her after her humiliation at the Sendai Standoff. "I've been trained in three different instruments you know. Plus vocal training."

"Pfft, show off," Makoto snorted, shoving his hands in his jeans pocket. Their ghost form was convenient enough to let clothes they put on be invisible as well, for some reason or another. Rin believed it to be prolonged exposure to whatever radiation her ghost family exuded. "Point is, you should sign up. You like performing right?" He was no doubt referring to the Standoff fiasco.

"Well, yeah," Rin said. "But would this be like a job or something...? Because I've never worked in my life." _It sounded less pathetic in my head._

"There's pay, so I guess you could call it a job," Makoto confirmed. "But try not to think of it as one. Have fun. Loosen up."

"I guess I could give it a shot," Rin muttered, "Not like I have anything to do after school anyway."

"What about homework?"

"I normally just do it before I sleep. It's easy enough."

So they headed down to the coffee shop. Rin pulled the door to the shop open—

"Whoa."

It was a lot bigger than it looked from the outside, and dimly lit except in some brighter spots. There were many patrons, all of them talking while drinking coffee or eating cake.

To the side, there was a small, empty oval stage made out of smooth wood. The performance pad, Rin assumed.

"Wait," Rin said as Makoto started going on ahead. "I didn't bring my guitar." _Can't perform without an instrument, can I? And these people don't seem like the violin type of people. And hell if I'm dragging my piano down here._

"Aw!" Makoto clicked his tongue. "Bring it tomorrow? I guess we can just enjoy a good coffee today. Or, well, you can, in any case."

"Boring..." Rin yawned. "There's gotta be something better to do then sit here. Anything."

Makoto hummed. "Well, there is one place."

* * *

Ryouta Rin could hardly believe that she was sitting in the stands and watching volleyball practice of all things. Not even basketball, which was what Makoto played, but volleyball.

"Hey, don't make that face," Makoto told her when the black-haired captain bumped the ball up into the air for Kenma to set and a boy with a mohawk to spike.

"Well, excuse me for not understanding what's going on. Seriously, sports is so stupid..."

"No it's not!" Makoto argued, miffed by her dismissal of sport. "I know you watch Kuroko no Basuke, you know."

"That's different," Rin explained, "It's anime, not real life."

Makoto shot her a wry look but didn't bother arguing, lest they be at each others' throats again.

"Yamamoto, pay attention!" Yaku scolded when the mohawk kid nearly botched his receive. "What's wrong with you today?"

"Th-there's a girl up there!" Yamamoto all but squeaked, leaving Yaku to raise an unimpressed eyebrow. "And she's _watching_ us!"

"So?" Kuroo came up to them, his posture relaxed. "What's the big deal, Yamamoto? Girls come here to watch all the time. I'm more surprised that she's the only one here today."

"They're talking about you," Makoto said to Rin, smirking.

"How do you know?"

"Onee-chan, they're literally looking in your general direction."

"She's saying something," Kenma observed quietly, and Kuroo gave him a short glance.

"She should probably speak up then because I can't hear a damn word she's saying," Kuroo said as pretty much all of them stopped practice just to stare at the girl.

Kenma shifted uncomfortably. "I don't think she's talking to us."

"Why don't we ask her?" Lev suggested before waving up to Rin. "Hey! Hello! Hi! Come down here!"

"You have no tact," Yaku told the first year, rolling his eyes.

"I've never seen her before," Inuoka said, curious. "She must be an upperclassman."

Looking slightly uncomfortable, Rin made her way down the court from the stands, glancing behind her once or twice, as if she were waiting for someone to follow.

"Um, hi," Rin coughed, clearing her throat. "Did you need something?" Her eye twitched suddenly, making all of them wonder if she was sane.

Only Rin was aware of Makoto's ghost making rude gestures and silly faces at the team.

"Basketball is better than volleyball!" Makoto was saying, pulling his lips and rolling his eyes to the back of his head at them. "Let me show you! I'll dribble that volleyball over there—"

"No!" Rin suddenly blurted, startling all of the boys.

"Are you okay?" Yaku asked. "We haven't said anything yet, you know."

"Twitchy, aren't you?" Kuroo commented when Rin's fingers spasmed, as if she were close to strangling someone. "We just wanted to know what you were saying up there." He gave Lev a sideways glance. "Or our first year does, anyway, because he's an idiot who doesn't appreciate practice sessions."

"I was just talking to myself," Rin muttered uncomfortably. "I'll just leave now—"

"Wait!" It was Yamamoto who blurted this out, a huge blush on his face. "Don't go...!" He made a choking noise.

"Kohaku-san," Kenma said quietly, his voice barely audible over Yamamoto's blathering. "Why are you here?"

The cats stared at her expectantly, waiting for her answer. Why would she—a girl that none of them, except for Kenma, apparently, had ever seen before—attend their volleyball practice?

By now, even Coach Nekomata was looking intrigued as he patiently waited for his team to get back to practicing.

"Sorry," Rin eventually said, unable to offer a feasible explanation. Then she swept away, dodging Lev's lanky frame and hurrying out the door.

"Well then," Kuroo said, breaking the puzzled silence that had ensued, "Now that that's out of the way, practice calls."

"I'm going to get a drink," Kenma informed the captain before walking outside.

"Argh, you idiot!" Outside, in the courtyard, Rin threw her half-empty drink bottle at Makoto, the plastic bottle bouncing off his head. "I'm going to kill you!" _What on earth was that for?!_

"Can't! I'm already dead!" Makoto reminded her, letting her pick up her water bottle and lob it at his head again.

"What on earth possessed you to think it was a good idea to handle any physical objects in front of other people?"

"Nothing possessed me! Honest! If anything, I should be the one doing the possessing!"

"Oh, I'll give you something to possess...!" Rin started to bash him with her bottle, but he only laughed and ran away. _Idiot! Dumbnut!_

"Come back here! Rrrgghh!" With one last yell, she threw the bottle as hard as she could, nailing him on the back of the head. Makoto cried out before collapsing on the ground. "Ugh, you dolt... let's go home already."

"I feel sorry for your future husband."

"I feel ten times more sorry for Soomi, honestly, and I've never even met the girl."

Little did human and ghost know, Kenma had watched the entire scene unfold from a distance, eyes widened. He had only seen Rin shouting at air and throwing her drink bottle at something invisible but still apparently physical.

 _What. The. Heck._

* * *

 ** _A/N: Rewrite of chapter 2~_**


	3. The Nonbeliever's Fate

_Everything you can imagine is real._

— _Edgar Allan Poe_

* * *

"Kuro," Kenma murmured, gaining the captain's attention as the whole team packed up the gym. "I need to talk to you."

Kuroo was kind enough to give the quiet setter his utmost attention. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Kohaku Rin," Kenma said, as if the name explained all of his concerns.

"What about her?"

Kenma blinked up at his childhood friend. "Please don't let her come here again."

"Oya?" Kuroo tossed a few balls into a nearby basket, not caring when one of them hit the rim and rolled away, leaving Lev to pick it up. He tilted his head to one side, the movement purely feline. "Why? Does she make you uncomfortable?" Though his posture was his relaxed and his eyelids were at half-mast, Kenma knew Kuroo well enough to know what he was on alert.

"Yes." It wasn't a lie—Rin did indeed plague him with discomfort.

"Then she's banned from the gym as far as I'm concerned," Kuroo said, seeming nonchalant, but Kenma knew better. "If she comes back, we'll chase her off. Can't have our brain asphyxiated by a girl of all things, or else the blood won't flow properly..."

"She's no ordinary person," Kenma muttered, too quietly for Kuroo to hear. "I think..." he trailed off, mulling it over. _She was talking about her brother in class. No, talking TO her brother, or at least some version of him... like a figment of her imagination. I thought she was just delusional, but..._ A shiver ran down his spine as he replayed the image of her water bottle hitting something solid, even though there had been nothing there. _Was I just... seeing things?_

At last, everything was packed up and the team went their separate ways, Kuroo and Kenma walking home in their usual direction. It would be quicker to take the bus, but being alone meant that they could talk about almost everything (although the conversation would likely be one sided at best).

"Kenma," Kuroo said as they walked, earphones plugged into his ears. "She didn't say anything to you, right? When you went outside to get water."

"No," Kenma replied simply. "No, she didn't. But I wish she did."

A small smirk made its way onto Kuroo's lips. "Don't tell me... is our Kenma finally growing up?"

"No," Kenma said, frowning, "I don't like her that way. I don't like her at all. She's weird."

Kuroo screeched to a halt. "Whoa, hold up. You're avoiding her because you think she's weird? That's... slightly hypocritical of you."

"Maybe weird wasn't the right way to say it. I don't think she's normal. I think..." Kenma's eyes flashed with a hint of fear, something that Kuroo didn't deign to miss. "She sees things that other people don't," Kenma finally finished. It was pretty far fetched, even by Kenma's standards. He shook his head. "Forget it. It doesn't matter. Let's please just not get involved with her."

"If that's what you want," Kuroo said, slightly uncertain. _He's not kidding around. He's actually scared. But of what? What does he mean that she sees things that we don't? Like ghosts?_ The idea was laughable at the very least. Every self-respecting adult that appealed to scientific explanations knew that ghosts didn't exist.

Kenma's house was first up the road, and they parted ways there. Kuroo had to walk further up the street to get to his house. There was also a quiet stretch of road that he had to cross.

Now that Kenma was no longer here to talk to him, Kuroo turned up the music on his phone, humming along.

"Oh, Tetsuro!" An old lady waddled up to him from her porch and Kuroo removed his earphones, smiling at the woman.

"Good evening, Hanae-san," Kuroo responded politely, dipping his head to her before lifting it. "How have you been?"

"Oh, good, good..."

The conversation didn't last long, and Kuroo was soon on his way once again, music turned up loud as he contemplated what he would cook for dinner tonight. His mother was currently away on a well deserved holiday in Hawaii. She had left just two days ago, and would not be back until about a month, leaving Kuroo to take care of himself.

 _Fried rice sounds good... yes, with some shrimp paste, onion and a fried egg on top. Maybe if I'm careful, I can make the yolk dribble all over the rice._

The chorus of the song came on, and Kuroo started to hum to himself, a swagger entering into his gait as he crossed the street.

Food entered his mind again and he grinned to himself. _And then I can make_ —

There was the screech of tires, a thud, and everything went black.

* * *

Makato's head snapped up. _Something just happened. That noise. It's... familiar._

"I heard a loud crash," Rin said as she popped her head into his room, a worried frown on her face. "I thought it was Masami-oba-chan dropping her wok again, but..."

"Let's investigate," Makoto suggested, and Rin nodded in agreement. They headed downstairs, where Jiro was giggling at the television, and Rin put on her pastel pink jacket before going out with Makoto.

"We'll be back soon, oba-chan!" Rin called over her shoulder before closing the door behind her.

"The crash came from down the street," Makoto informed her, about to grab her wrist before coming to his senses. Even if he tried, he wouldn't be able to touch her. Give her a chill, as that was what ghosts generally invoked when they touched living creatures, but not touch her. "Over the hill."

Masami's house was located on one side of the hill, near the peak, and the noise originated from the other side of the hill, near the base. It was going to be quite the trudge upward when they returned.

"Fuck," Rin softly swore as they ascended the slope and descended the other side, having seen the carnage. It was a one vehicle accident, and the car had swerved off the road and straight into an innocent lamppost. She gave Makoto a sideways glance, remembering that he had lost his life to a car accident as well. _How could I forget? It hasn't even been a week._

They could hear sirens on the way—no doubt someone had called the police and the ambulance.

"We should help," Makoto said, noticing an old lady who was borderline hysterical on the sidewalk.

"Tetsuro!" the woman was wailing, an old fashioned phone in her hand. Rin gave her the benefit of the doubt and assumed that it was she who had called the emergency services. "Oh, Tetsuro...!" She was hunched over a motionless body near the edge of the road, and Rin's heart froze when something—no, _someone_ —materialized beside the old lady.

But the woman didn't even acknowledge the apparition, still sobbing over "Tetsuro".

Rin narrowed her eyes at the figure, who seemed to be trying to get the woman's attention. "Hey, isn't that the bedhead guy from the volleyball team?" _He looks like a scheming villain..._

"Hey, you're right," Makoto said, nodding. "Kuroo Tetsuro. He looks like he's just seen death."

As they neared, they got a good look at the body. It was _also_ Kuroo Tetsuro, the very same one who was freaking out over by the crying old lady.

Rin's blood chilled. _Only I can see him. Because he's dead._

It was then the police and the ambulance arrived, and Rin kept her distance, not wanting to be involved in any of this sticky business. The paramedics hooked the captain up to some medical shit and drove him off to the hospital, whereas the police were questioning the only witnesses in this scenario: the old lady and the driver who had miraculously come out of the incident relatively unscathed.

Rin tried her best to ignore Kuroo, but his devastated and terrified face was making things difficult for her. Now was not the time to approach his ghost. She needed to wait until all the living were gone.

Makoto volunteered to go back to inform Masami, leaving Rin alone to battle against the empathy she was feeling toward the captain.

Eventually, the scene was cleared, with only a few officers left behind to look after and/or investigate the crime scene. Kuroo stared hollowly into the distance, where the ambulance had gone off with his body. No one paid him any heed. Not because they didn't want to, but because they couldn't. To them, he was just a cold evening breeze.

To her frustration, Kuroo wasn't looking her direction and hadn't seen her yet. Growing impatient, she called out, "Hey, you stupid cat, come here!"

Since she had distanced herself from the crime scene significantly, the police officers only glanced at her once, dismissing her as a girl who was calling out to her lost pet. But Kuroo was sharp enough to stare at her before cautiously approaching her.

Kuroo tried to touch her shoulder, and Rin had to stand there unflinching, however difficult it was. No matter what, being touched by a ghost was decidedly one of the most unnerving things one could experience.

"Can you..." Kuroo's eyes grew hopeful and Rin bit her lip. "Can you see me?"

"Yeah," she said brusquely. "I can. But don't bother trying to communicate with anyone else except other ghosts. I'm the only living person that can see you."

"Ghosts? Ghosts?! Are you freaking shitting me right now?" Kuroo snapped, leaving Rin to frown. "I just saw myself get put into an ambulance...! But I'm still here! Kohaku, mind telling me just what the actual fuck is going on here?!"

Rin sighed in frustration. "It's a long story. You're going to have to get used to your new existence." She started to walk away, back up the hill. "Come."

"Where are you taking me, Kohaku?" he demanded, his voice calmer but still panicked. "And why can no one seem to see or hear me except you?! And what do you mean by ghosts?! They don't fucking exist!"

"Shut up!" Rin shouted, "I'll answer all your questions, but I am hungry as fuck right now and you are coming with me to where I live so I can feed myself! And my place is literally the only place in Tokyo where you can be safe."

Kuroo regarded her warily, and Rin couldn't blame him. He'd been through a lot in the past hour and a half. "Fine," he relented, his voice heavy. "I... don't know what's happening right now, so please explain it to me."

"Dinner first. Then we'll talk."

* * *

"Welcome back, dear!" Masami greeted, setting a bowl of rice for Rin on the table, and some tofu for Jiro. "Oh, you've brought a friend! I only cooked for one, unfortunately—"

"It's fine," Rin cut her off, looking a bit sheepish. "He's like you. A ghost."

Masami frowned a bit. "Oh, I see..."

Kuroo glared at Rin. "Look, I don't know what's your deal, but stop it with this ghost nonsense already."

Masami pursed her lips. "Well, this is going to be a problem. It wasn't hard for my son and I to come to terms with our death, but he seems to be a different one..."

Kuroo was pale, even for a ghost, as he sat down at the dinner table with Rin, Masami, and Jiro. Makoto was somewhere else, not bothering with dinner since he wasn't required to eat to survive any longer.

"If I really am a ghost," Kuroo began, picking up a spoon and palming it. "Explain this."

"Ghosts can still interact with their physical environment," Rin explained promptly, "It's only living creatures that they can't touch."

"Can we..." Kuroo hesitated. "Phase through walls and stuff?"

Masami shook her head. "I've tried it already, dear, it doesn't work that way, unfortunately."

"Right." Rin could tell he was still disbelieving, and she was currently waiting for when reality would finally catch up to him.

"Kuroo, we're not lying to you," Rin said slowly. "You died when that car hit you. And you've come back to the world of the living as a ghost. Nobody can hear or see you or touch you except me, minus the touch part. As a ghost, you can't make physical contact with living things. I'm not sure about plants, though, so don't ask me that. Look, watch." Grimacing, she stuck her arm straight through his chest. Silently, he blinked down at his impaled chest.

Then he laughed, the sound mirthless and hollow. "Wow... wow, shit, I'm dead. I'm actually fucking dead. Or hallucinating."

"Language!" Masami reprimanded sharply. "There's a child at the table!"

"Jiro can't see or hear ghosts," Rin reminded her.

"I don't care! I don't want to hear profanity in my house."

 _Whoops,_ Rin thought sardonically, _too late._

"Sorry," Kuroo bit out, "but this is all very, very hard to comprehend. I feel like my brain is about to implode on itself."

At that, Masami's gaze softened slightly. "Go upstairs and get a futon from the closet. Go to sleep and refresh your mind, dear, and we can talk about this in the morning."

"... Fine. Thank you." Kuroo pushed his chair back and all but stormed upstairs, obviously upset.

Rin sighed. _Since when were things so complicated? Sometimes, all I want to do is tease the piggy again. ... But, hopefully, I'm getting better than that person who I once was._

* * *

 ** _A/N: Don't worry; he's not actually dead. I'll be flying back to Australia tomorrow, so hopefully I can post the rest of Kindergarten Bully on Wattpad on my laptop since the iPad has... formatting issues when it comes to uploading on that site._**


	4. The Disappearance of Team Nekoma

_Nothing in life is certain except death and taxes._

— _Benjamin Franklin_

* * *

Kuroo moaned into his pillow, his face buried into the soft fabric. As usual, he had his head squished into the pillow, forming his signature bedhead hairdo that he couldn't seem to alter with any amount of hair gel.

Through the curtains, light began to trickle in, and Kuroo's eyes opened. He yawned and proceeded to wipe the sleep out of his eyes, only to find that there wasn't any. His vision was clear and his mind felt fresh as he left the stasis that was sleep.

This wasn't normal.

Thanks to his now clear mind, last night's events immediately flooded back to the front of his mind, and he tightly clutched the bed frame, feeling as if he were about to be knocked over by another tidal wave of bullshit.

 _This has got to be a dream._

He looked around. This wasn't his room.

 _Fuck._

"Rise and shine, beautiful!" an unfamiliar male voice said chipperly, and a new face loomed over him, a smattering of freckles speckled on his nose. Before Kuroo could even reply, Makoto yanked the sheets away, exposing Kuroo to the cold. Or, at least, it _should_ have been cold.

For the sake of it, Kuroo pretended that it was cold anyway.

"You sleep like a log," Makoto commented as Kuroo sat up and swung his legs over the bed. "You must really like my bed. You asked me to swap the futon with you last night, remember?"

"I'm sorry, but who are you again?" Kuroo asked, staring curiously at the boy. "I don't think I ever caught your name."

Okay, things weren't so bad. He just woke up in a random guy's bed. It wasn't as if had died or anything. Contacted a sexual disease, maybe, but at least he wasn't dead, _right_?!

"The name's Kohaku Makoto!" he introduced himself, "I died last week!"

Kuroo flopped back onto the bed. "So it wasn't a dream," he mumbled, feeling his head ache with a phantom (hah!) pain. "Holy shiiitt..." _I'm dead. I'm actually a fucking corpse. Or at least my physical body is. I'm a bona fide ghost._ He barked a harsh laugh, tears gathering in his eyes and streaming down the side of his head. At least he could still cry. That made him feel somewhat human.

"Hey, now, don't be like that," Makoto said awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "It's not so bad. You won't believe the amount of panties I was able to see yesterday."

"I don't care about panties!" Kuroo cried, somewhat aware of how childish he sounded. "I want to breathe!" He sat up again, looking around wildly. "I want to...!"

Makoto raised an eyebrow.

"... Play volleyball with Kenma, and Yaku, and all the others," he finished sullenly, burying his face into his palms.

"Oh." Makoto's chipper voice was no longer so chipper. "I get where you're coming from. I dunno if I was popular enough for you to know me, but I was on the basketball team. Had a lot of friends there too..."

"Then how the hell are you so... so _accepting_?"

"You mean why aren't I like you?" Makoto amended. "Because this is my new life—er, _afterlife_ —now. It's kind of like being alive... except more dead. I still have plans for my afterlife, like getting Soomi's attention."

Kuroo glared at him, his vision still blurred by tears. "You... are unbelievable."

"Hah! You and my cousin would get along well. She says the same about me." Makoto paused. "Except she's ruder about it."

"Cousin?"

"Yeah, Rin."

Kuroo lifted his eyebrows, his tears drying quickly. "And here I thought that you were siblings."

"Oh, nah, that's just our cover. Her last name isn't even Kohaku. It's Ryouta but she's being pissy about it so now it's Kohaku." Makoto scratched his head again. "Girls are so confusing..."

Kuroo snorted before standing up. "You're telling me. So is Ryouta-chan the only one who can see us?" _Please don't let this be true._

Unfortunately for Kuroo, Makoto nodded. "Yeah. Trust me, I'm not so happy about it either. But at least I can bother her without anybody seeing."

"Right. So I'm guessing that it was you that she was talking to the other day?"

"Hehe, yep! And—hey, where're you going?"

"To take a bath," Kuroo said shortly. "And a change of clothes. Wait," he frowned, "how does that even work?"

At that, Makoto grinned. "I don't know how, but any clothes we wear automatically becomes ghostly like us! Wanna borrow my clothes?"

"Do clothes get dirty when you're a ghost?"

"Nope. We don't get dirty or hurt. We don't even sweat, which is kinda weird since you just had a mini cry-fest back there. Man, our existence is weird."

"Hmm," Kuroo hummed contemplatively, "I feel dirty anyway... I'm going to shower but I'll just wear my uniform again."

"Suit yourself."

* * *

A vein twitched on Rin's forehead as she was forced to stop on one side of the busy road, the pedestrian light having turned red. Impatiently, she all but smashed her fingers into the button that controlled the light, as if the more force she put it, the faster it would turn green. She had her guitar case slung across her back; it jostled as she mashed the button.

 _Come on, you stupid thing. Can something actually go fucking right for once_ —

"Hey, cousin, you left without us! Why's that?" Makoto jogged up to her and Rin groaned, turning around.

"Good morning to you too, pervert," Rin snarked before shifting her gaze to Kuroo. "Bedhead cat."

He raised an eyebrow. "Like I haven't heard that one before, _Ryouta-san._ "

"I cannot believe you told him," Rin growled, turning on Makoto. "Are you guys best friends now, or something?"

Kuroo snorted. "Hardly."

"I mean, he's the only other ghost around my age. So kinda?"

"Why are you two even here?" Rin demanded. "Can't you go haunt somewhere or someone else?"

Kuroo frowned, looking a little hurt. More so because of the fact that Rin had cruelly reminded him of his current state than anything else. But the hurt quickly disappeared and he smirked. "You think I want to sit around all day doing nothing? You're the only one who can see us, so tough luck, princess. And didn't you ever consider that maybe I'd like to see how my team is going?"

"Not really, no," Rin said flippantly. "I don't care what you do with yourself. Just leave me alone. That goes for you too, Makoto."

"Well, aren't you a selfish one?" Kuroo said musingly, seeming unaffected, though his dark gaze told otherwise. "Do you even care about anyone else except yourself?"

At that moment, the pedestrian light turned green, and Rin stalked across the road without even giving the ghosts a second glance.

"I know what you're thinking," Makoto said to Kuroo as they walked a few steps behind Rin. "She's a bitch."

"What gave it away?" Kuroo asked sardonically.

"Oi, don't get snippy with me. You may technically be my senpai, but I died first. So I'm your ghost upperclassman!"

Kuroo blinked at him, sweatdropping. _Dying first is really nothing to be proud of. But he looks so happy..._ "I'm not going to refer to you as senpai, if that's what you're after."

"Darn it!"

* * *

Rin startled as Saki slammed her palms on her desk again, grinning from ear to ear.

"What?" Rin said rudely. _What does she want now?_

"I asked a friend to come over," Saki said, "Since you mentioned her yesterday, I thought she might be able to convince you to join out music club."

"The answer's still no."

"Oh, come on! Just give us a chance! Please? Oh, Soomi, just in time!"

 _Soomi? Makoto's church friend?_ Rin snapped her head up, intrigued.

A girl with soft black tendrils approached Saki and Rin from the right. She had chocolate brown eyes that drooped slightly, giving her a kind, matronly expression. Like the rest of her features, her smile was soft.

Rin raised both of her eyebrows. _Huh. I can see why Makoto likes her so much appearance-wise._

"Kohaku-chan, this is Soomi! Soomi, this is Kohaku Rin-chan," Saki said all in one breath, folding her arms and looking pleased with herself. Her bleached white hair was looking more spiked up than yesterday, and Rin couldn't help but wonder if that had anything to do with her mood.

"It's nice to meet you, Kohaku-chan. I'm Miko Soomi."

Rin nodded before shaking her outstretched hand. "Likewise."

Something flickered in Soomi's gaze, and Rin thought she looked distinctly uncomfortable. "I'm sorry for what I'm about to say, but..."

"Makoto and I are related, yes," Rin said bluntly.

"Ah." Soomi's gaze grew sad. "Sorry, I just really miss him. Sorry for troubling you."

"It's fine." Rin couldn't really care less about Soomi's feelings or Saki's club. All she wanted to do was to be left in peace.

Soomi smiled weakly. "I can see you want to be left alone. Saki asked me to ask you to join our club, but I don't want to bother you."

Finally! Someone sensible! For the first time since she transferred to Nekoma, Rin flashed her a genuine smile. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

Saki sighed. "Well, I guess it can't be helped... but I won't give up!" She clenched her fist and grinned. "Just you watch, Kohaku-chan, I'm going to make you join our super mega awesome music club!"

"Yeah, good luck with that," Rin snorted before busying herself by reviewing her class notes. _I already covered this back in Shiratorizawa... how boring._

* * *

For the first time, Kuroo stood nervously in front of the gym, Makoto, now his official somewhat ghost buddy, by his side. Did his team know that he was dead? Did Kenma?

 _Probably,_ he answered his own question, his heart twisting. Taking in a deep breath, he pushed the door open gently, as if some wind had opened it. And to the people inside, _wind did open it._

At least it would have been if there had been anyone inside.

Kuroo's stomach dropped.

"Oh, uh," Makoto stammered, "They're... not here."

 _I can see that, thank you._

Makoto tried to awkwardly pat his back but Kuroo slapped his hand away, glaring. "Don't."

"... Fine."

* * *

"How was your day, prissy, sissy sis?" Makoto asked tauntingly as Rin came out of the front gates to meet her dead cousin and his equally dead new ghost friend (Kuroo).

"Tedious," Rin replied curtly, shooting Kuroo a sideways glance. "Why is he here? Shouldn't you be spying on your team or something?"

He glared harshly at her and she grimaced, nearly flinching at the intensity of his burning eyes. "They weren't there."

"Did you try looking for them?"

"What do _you_ think?"

Rin swerved away from him, no longer wanting to speak with him. "Makoto."

"Oh, yeah?"

"That gig in the coffee shop... I'll do it as a volunteer when I have the time. Oba-chan talked to me this morning to say that she's sending Jiro to toddler school as of today. I have to pick him up before I go the usual way home."

"Where's the school?"

"One train ride away. Are you two coming or what?"

There was no hesitation when Makoto sidled up to her. Kuroo stared at her for a good while before seemingly nonchalantly following them, standing on Makoto's other side so that the other ghost was walking between them.

As they walked, Kuroo sighed through his nose. _Kenma... the team... where did you all go?_

* * *

Rin almost regretted having to go pick up Jiro when she and her ghosts arrived at the train station. The train they were taking would be arriving in another five minutes but that wasn't the reason why she held no small amount of remorse in her heart.

The reason was because Kenshin Saki, in all her bleached white-haired glory, had slapped Soomi's arm (the first year was standing next to her) for her attention and was now unabashedly pointing straight at where Rin was standing.

The orange-haired girl shot Kuroo and Makoto a sharp glance, hoping with all her heart that they wouldn't interfere, especially since this was business amongst the living.

"It's fate!" Saki declared with a grin full of sharp teeth as she dragged Soomi along to talk to Rin. "Are you super sure that you still don't want to join our band? Not to sound biased or anything, but I think we're pretty cool."

"Are you ever going to stop asking?" Rin asked in return, more annoyed than impressed by her persistence on the matter. "Look, unless I wasn't clear enough before, I don't give a flying fuck about your club or your band. So leave me alone."

Makoto winced while Kuroo gave her a lazy glance.

 _Before, I thought she was just trying to be feisty without realizing she was going too far,_ Kuroo mused silently, _But she's just rude, uncaring, and blunt about everything._ The girl was truly an all-round bitch. Out of all the living people he could have been stuck talking to, it just had to be her, didn't it?

Saki spluttered, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Makoto looked frankly outraged at Soomi's hurt expression. "Rin, what the hell?!" he shouted at his living cousin. "What's your fucking problem?! Soomi never did anything to you—"

Saki said something along the same lines as Makoto, and Rin was frankly relieved that she didn't have to directly address her cousin to answer the question.

"You're my problem," Rin sneered. "You and this band concept you keep going off about. I don't want to join and you keep pestering me about it." She turned her gaze to Soomi. "But you're okay. I don't have anything against you."

Soomi looked confused by being addressed so suddenly. "Thank you?"

"In her defence, that's gotta be annoying," Kuroo remarked, "Being asked continuously to join a club when you've already turned it down."

Saki glared at Rin and folded her arms, her spiked up hair growing a little bit flatter, as if it was somehow connected with her mood. "Bah! Fine, we don't need you! Come on, Soomi!"

Makoto's eyes trailed longingly after Soomi as the girl's boarded the train, which had just arrived.

The very same train that they boarded seconds after the girls.

Needless to say, it was an uncomfortable ride.

* * *

 ** _A/N: My birthday is tomorrow .o._**

 ** _Or the day after tomorrow, depending on where you live._**


	5. Evening Meetings

_Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity._

— _Lucius Annaeus Seneca_

* * *

"Oh, wonderful," Rin remarked when she saw that the only seat left was beside Soomi. _Whatever. I'll just stand._ She had nothing against Soomi, but Saki was bound to get defensive if Rin sat down beside the first year girl. She gripped onto a pole railing, letting Makoto sit next to Soomi.

"Soomi," Makoto sighed sadly, "I miss you." He tried to tentatively touch her shoulder but ended up having his hand phasing through her. "... Of course."

Soomi shivered, having felt a chill run down her left arm.

"You okay?" Saki asked her.

"Fine. I just felt some sort of draft pass through."

"Probably the air conditioning turned up too high."

Makoto looked more heartbroken than ever, and Rin sighed.

"He's really head over heels for that girl," Kuroo said, forcing Rin to be reminded of his presence. "You think it's ever going to work out?"

"Of course not," Rin muttered quietly, though it was still loud enough for Kuroo to hear her. "That... that's ridiculous. He should just give up now." _Makoto, you bloody fucking idiot. Assuming you even manage to communicate with her... either one or both of you is going to end up hurt._ Her knuckles whitened as she gripped her support pole harder than ever.

"Why aren't you doing something then? From what I've seen so far, being a heartless bitch is your specialty," Kuroo snarked, giving her a sideways glance.

If Rin heard him, which she undoubtedly did, she didn't deign him with an answer. Until five minutes later. "You hardly know me. You don't get to make that call."

"Hm?" Kuroo raised an eyebrow. "What was that?" It seemed like he had already forgotten what he had said to her.

"... Forget it. It's not like we're friends anyway."

"No," he agreed, "we're not. I was out of line before. Sorry." The way he apologized was awkward and stiff, but Rin took it silently anyway.

Suddenly, Makoto shouted as a middle-aged man with greased back hair and a potbelly sat down in the seemingly unoccupied seat beside Soomi. The ghost that was Makoto sprang up, looking disgusted as he walked through other passengers to get to where Rin and Kuroo were standing.

"Soomi..." Makoto moaned in despair before flaring up. "That man looks like a pervert! He'd better not touch my Soomi, or else I'll haunt him for the rest of his life!"

"You may want to reconsider that," Kuroo smirked, "He looks like the type to gain fifty kilos after marriage and spend his time jacking off to tentacle hentai."

Rin snorted, getting a few looks from other people. "You have a wonderful imagination, bedhead cat..."

"Um, excuse me?" Soomi had gotten out of her seat and tapped Rin on the shoulder. "Could I talk to you for a moment...?"

"Uh, sure. What do you want?"

Makoto looked like he wanted to punch his cousin for speaking so rudely to his Soomi.

"It's about the club," Soomi said rather hesitantly, "Did... did something happen? To make you avoid us like this? Did we do something wrong?" She held up her hands, looking sheepish. "S-sorry, I'm just curious. You just seem really intent on not joining."

Rin was well aware of Kuroo's gaze burning into her back. Makoto already knew what had happened back at the Standoff, and she could only hope that he kept his mouth shut.

At least Soomi was being polite about it and not all up-in-your-face like Saki.

"I don't really want to talk about it," Rin bit out. There was no way she would ever allow Soomi to know about her past. It wasn't like it was the typical troubled past where her parents had died or anything... it was just... embarrassing. Shameful. The thought of her teammates abandoning her, Souma's cutting words, Oikawa's hurtful but truthful speech... the thought of all those things made heat rush to her cheeks.

Soomi nodded. "Oh, that's okay... I thought you might say something like that. I just hope... that you don't lose your love for music. You strike me as the kind of person who has a rich history with music. It would be a shame if it all went down the drain."

Rin fixed her a neutral glance. "Trust me, that's not happening anytime soon. I've dedicated everything to music." Her voice was hard but, somehow, Soomi didn't even flinch.

"That's good. I hope you'll reconsider our offer." With that, Soomi backed away into the crowd and slipped into her seat next to Saki again, where she proceeded to launch into an animated conversation with the second year girl.

"Tsk," Rin scoffed, "What part of no don't they get...?"

"They must be pretty desperate if they're pushing you so much," Kuroo observed, shifting his position when a living man got too close for comfort. He wasn't used to this phasing through people part of his existence yet. _Tch... looks like I'll have the rest of my afterlife to get over it._

"Soomi is not desperate!" Makoto proclaimed with a renewed fire. "Rin, you said you'd become our medium if she approached you first!"

"No," Rin said, forgetting to be quiet in her haste to correct him, "I said I'd consider it and that's what I'm doing right now."

She was given strange looks again and she flushed, lowering her gaze. _Shit... I seriously have to be more careful talking to these idiots._ Rin glared at both of them, hoping that other people wouldn't think that she was glaring at them. Then she made a subtle cutting motion across her neck, still scowling.

"We're already dead," Kuroo pointed out, "You can't kill us again, _Ryouta-san._ " _If she could, what would that make us? Double dead?_

"I can try," Rin hissed quietly, her fingers twitching.

Makoto tossed an arm around Kuroo's shoulder. One thing about the dead first year that annoyed Kuroo was that he was tall enough to do such things. "Aw, come on, prissy sissy sis, don't become a murderer now! You've got your whole life ahead of you."

"So did we," Kuroo said, and Rin could feel the mood go down one hundred and twenty percent. In fact, the gloom was so heavy that Rin felt like her knees were going to buckle from the pressure. She lifted her eyes to see Kuroo's head turned in the opposite direction, watching the world go by in a colorful blur through the window. He looked bored and his posture was seemingly relaxed, but Rin could still see the tension he was carrying.

"That must really suck," Rin said, not caring that random strangers were giving her glances again. _I never really considered it before since they're pretty much alive to me... But to everyone else in the world, they're dead._ Awkwardly, she looked away before trying to sneak Kuroo and Makoto a glance again. "You two... how do you deal with it?"

"It's only a minor setback," Makoto answered, though he didn't sound totally convinced by his own answer. "Right now, all I want is for Soomi to know how I feel. I don't care if I'm dead, that's what I want to do and I'll do it." He frowned slightly. "With or without your help. I'm not going to give up on Soomi just because I'm... dead."

Rin turned to Kuroo.

"I..." He started before faltering. _How_ do _I do it?_ Kuroo shrugged. "Honestly?" The bedhead captain spoke slowly, as if he were afraid of tripping over his words. "I feel like I want to break down and tear my hair out half the time. But if I did that, I wouldn't look so attractive anymore." The joke was lame, but it was all he had at the moment. It was undoubtedly a difficult question, and he wasn't sure if he had a real, satisfactory answer from her. He hoped that she wouldn't press the matter.

Luckily, the subject was dropped, albeit via a very lame reciprocation of Kuroo's quip. "You do that. Maybe then you won't look like such a scheming villain."

"Oya? Villain? At least I don't act like one... prissy sissy sis, was it?"

"Fuck you; this is all your fault, Makoto."

"Out of all the people in the world and I'm stuck with the incestuous necrophiliac," Kuroo lamented sardonically.

Rin bared her teeth at him in a not very lady-like sneer. "Bite me, bitch."

"Young lady!" one woman exclaimed, looking affronted by her profanity. "I don't know what your problem is, but—"

"Cool it, lady!" Saki was suddenly there, slinging her arm around Rin's shoulders just as the train slowed to a stop, having arrived at a station. "She's with me. Come on, Kohaku-chan." Before Rin could protest, Saki led her out of the train, Soomi, Makoto, and Kuroo following close behind.

Rin gave the white-haired girl a wary glance. "If you think doing me favors is going to put you into my good books—"

"Does it?" Saki asked, yellow eyes wide.

"No."

"Dammit, it was worth a try though." She watched the train leave with a small sweatdrop. "This is your stop, right?"

"Oh, Saki," Soomi said with a sigh, hanging her head.

"Thankfully, yes," Rin replied, "it is. Goodbye." She started to walk away but Saki chased after her.

"Hold on! Since we're all in the same town, why don't we all hang out or something?" Saki suggested, obviously wanting to win Rin's favor.

Kuroo snorted. "Does she ever give up?" He adjusted his Nekoma uniform tie, loosening it a bit. _How annoying. What happened to "we don't need you"? If Ryouta-san doesn't want to join then she should stop trying to force her to._ It was clear that Saki was only inviting Rin along so that she might be able to nudge the orange-haired girl to join their club or band or whatever.

"I'm not here to hang out," Rin said tersely, doing her best to ignore a downtrodden Makoto trying to get Soomi's attention. "I have something to do, okay? Back off, Saki, I'm not joining your club."

"Ugh!" Saki threw her hands up in the air, looking like she was going to storm off in a huff again (and try again tomorrow despite declaring that Rin was unneeded). "Even if you don't want to join, why can't we be friends?"

"I don't want to be friends with someone like you," Rin said arrogantly, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Maybe if she played it right, Saki would back off after labeling her as a rich bitch. She'd take that over Saki's constant pestering any day. "Besides, I'm not lying when I say I have something to do." _If Jiro gets fucking kidnapped waiting for me, I'll strangle her._ "Move, Saki."

Saki sighed. "Fine, fine. But just you wait, I'm going to convince you to join our awesome club even if it kills me!"

A shiver ran down Rin's spine. "Please don't." _If she gets reanimated just to bug me, I might as well hang myself now and hope for the best._

Once Soomi and Saki were out of the way, heading in the opposite direction, Rin went on her way, walking down an unfamiliar street to the address that Masami had given her.

"Jiro's your little brother, right?" Kuroo asked Makoto, who nodded.

"Yeah. He doesn't really talk much, the little tyke, but when it does, there's a ninety percent chance of it being swear words he picked up from me and Rin." Makoto smiled to himself, probably not realizing it.

The sun had set about ten minutes ago, leaving this part of Tokyo in the dark. Street lamps were turned on, a few bugs buzzing around the bright light emitters. A few cars drove past on the roadside, this street being a cutaway from the main street. Rin pretended that she didn't see Makoto and Kuroo flinch out of her peripheral vision every time a vehicle passed them with a _whoosh!_

They'd both died in motor accidents, Kuroo being the victim of a pedestrian-car hit and Makoto and Masami driven off the road by a drunk driver. What were the odds of that? She'd thought about it before, her heart pricking each time. What an awful coincidence...

Rin stopped in her tracks, identifying the small figure standing underneath a streetlamp to be Jiro. He was standing in front of the school, the gates having been closed, the entire building dark. Rin felt a twinge of annoyance. _Stupid adults, letting a three year old stand by himself after the dark. I swear, all the adults I know are so irresponsible..._ Except Masami, of course; she couldn't help that she had died in a car accident. _It looks like nothing has changed. All adults are good for is covering their own asses._

"You're late," Jiro mumbled, yawning when Rin squatted down to his level.

"I know," Rin said softly, lazily ruffling his hair. Masami had cut it into some bowl cut before Rin arrived to Tokyo and the boy perpetually looked like he had just come from Sunday school. And the vest and bow tie weren't really helping things along. "Sorry."

"I'm tired. Sleepy."

Rin picked him up, her arms shaking momentarily before she became accustomed to his weight. "Didn't they let you have afternoon naps?" Behind her, Kuroo and Makoto were exchanging glances, Kuroo's eyebrows raised up high by how soft Rin was acting around Jiro.

"She almost looks like a demure young lady, right?" Makoto joked.

"She _does_ seem like she's not about to breathe fire on everything," Kuroo agreed, smirking. "For once."

"Oh, shut it, you two," Rin growled, Jiro burying his face into her (unfortunately) flat chest to get some warmth and comfort. "You should be honored that you get to walk with me."

"Shut it," Jiro muttered. "Shut it..."

"Can he see and hear us too?" Kuroo wondered, leaning over the little guy. They'd had this conversation before, but considering he had been on the verge of a breakdown, it wasn't a bad idea to ask again.

"No, but considering Masami-oba-chan dresses him each morning, I have a feeling that he's at least somewhat aware of ghosts," Rin informed him. She gently stroked his hair, playing a bit with the strands. She looked up at the sky. "It's getting late, we should hurry back."

"Agreed," Makoto said, and the two humans and two ghosts traveled back to where they came from. Just as they turned a corner, Rin bumped into something hard, her forehead taking the brunt of the blow.

"Shit," she swore, hoping that Jiro wasn't awake to hear it. "Watch where you're going—" She froze, ogling the person who she had bumped into. "Y-you!"

Kenma stared back, eyes wide. He was dressed in a red jacket with a hood and was wearing a gray tee underneath the outer garment. Rin could hear Kuroo audibly gasp, albeit not very loudly.

"Hey, Kenma, everything alright?" It was Yaku who had spoken as the entirety of Team Nekoma appeared around the corner, stopping behind Kenma in a way that reminded Rin of how gangsters would back their leaders in a confrontation.

Kuroo's breath hitched again.

* * *

 _ **A/N: I'm 16 now!**_ **(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ**

 _ **starfish: tHaNk yOU and I'm glad you think Soomi's cute :P... Saki won't leave her alone otherwise she wouldn't be Saki (and I wouldn't be surprised if you were getting a sense of YanSim because YanSim is one of the many forms of media I draw inspiration from).**_

 _ **Imagine this though... Kenma as a gangster leader -_-''**_


	6. Sour Milk

_¡Me Cago en la Leche!_

— _Don't bother trying to find an exclusive source_

* * *

"Y-you!" Rin stammered out, staring at Kenma as if he were some exotic animal at the zoo. _The guy from my class. He's also on the volleyball team, isn't he? That means he must be friends with..._ She turned her head back for a moment to glance at Kuroo, who looked like he had just seen a ghost.

"Hey, Kenma, everything alright?" A group of boys easily towering her gathered behind Kenma, all of them appearing from around the corner where Kenma had came from.

Rin grimaced. _What the...? Are they... some kind of delinquent gang?!_

"Ah, it's you!" Lev pointed at her quite rudely, blinking in pleasant surprise. "The one who kept talking to herself."

Yaku stepped on his foot, making him wince in pain and shoot the libero a nervous glance.

"I have a name, you know," Rin said tersely, feeling Kuroo's gaze drill in the back of her head. _No doubt he's going to want to know where they went._

"You never told us," Kai pointed out, speaking in his usual calm, polite manner.

"You never asked," Rin countered, holding Jiro closer to her chest.

"Okaa-chan?" Jiro said with a yawn. "Are we home yet?"

"Shh," Rin hushed him, gently bouncing him in her arms. "We'll be home soon. And I'm not your okaa-chan. I'm Rin-chan, remember?" She continued to baby-talk with him, ignoring the looks she was getting from the team.

"Oh..." Jiro promptly fell back asleep again, Rin sighing in relief.

"It was nice meeting all of you here," Rin said in a tone that suggested otherwise. "If you don't mind me asking, why weren't you at school today?" In her peripheral vision, she could see Kuroo struggling not to do anything rash.

At that, the mood immediately fell. It was Yaku who spoke, "Actually, we dropped by at the hospital to see our captain."

"What?!" cried Kuroo, marching up to them. "Hospital?!" He tried to reach out to them but he only phased through.

"What do you mean?" Rin asked carefully, trying to ignore Kuroo. "I thought he was—" She cut herself off there, knowing that she would only get questions if she proclaimed Kuroo to be deceased.

"Kuroo was involved in an accident yesterday," Kai said tersely. "He's currently staying in Shiromaru Royal Hospital." There was more to it, but Rin only had one more question in her mind.

"So he's definitely alive?"

"Yes," Yaku said curtly. "Is there a reason that he wouldn't be?"

"I'm alive," Kuroo choked out, staring at the ground in disbelief. "Hah... HAHA! I'm alive!"

"No reason," said Rin, "Thank you for answering my questions. I'll see you later." She started walking to the train station again, hoping that she could talk to Kuroo about his state. Makoto had just flanked her when the entirety of Team Nekoma gathered around her.

Rin halted. "What are you doing?"

"We shouldn't let a girl walk home by herself," said Inuoka, a smile on his face.

"What if you get hurt?!" said Yamamoto, Lev nodding in agreement. "You never know what kind of thugs might be lurking around."

Kuroo smirked, still riding on the euphoria of being alive. "Thugs, huh...?" Ironically, Yamamoto looked just like a thug at times, especially when he was trying to intimidate rival players.

"I'm not alone—" Rin turned away, her grip in Jiro tightening ever so slightly. "Never mind. Thanks, I guess, but you really don't need to. I'm taking a train." _Dammit, that was too close._

"Well, so are we, so you're in luck," Yaku said, speaking in a tone that left no room for any argument. He frowned. "And I doubt that your brother is going to be any help if you meet anyone dangerous."

 _He's not my brother_ , Rin thought, and was tempted to say so before remembering that _Jiro was indeed her brother_ according to her cover as Kohaku Rin. "Mm," she grunted.

"Oh, come on, don't be so stubborn~" Lev said. "Even if you refuse, we'll still be heading the same direction, so there's no point in refusing at all."

"I... okay," she said hesitantly, discretely throwing a look at Kuroo. _I know this is a big turning point for him, but I can't afford to be... discovered. Tsk, tsk... to think, the Concertmaster Ryouta Rin reduced to being the pretend sister of a dead city kid. If she cared even a little bit, okaa-san would have a fit._

"Ohoho~" Makoto said, grinning. "Looks like my cute little cousin got herself some new bodyguards. How adorable!"

Rin clutched Jiro just a little bit tighter, rolling her shoulders against the guitar case strapped across her back. It felt like it belonged there, even if she hadn't played it all day.

"You play?" Surprisingly, it was Kenma who asked, shifting his eyes from his phone to the case.

"Yeah," Rin replied shortly.

When Kenma left it at that, Inuoka jumped in. "Are you any good?"

"I like to think so, yes," she said, giving him a sideways glance. "I'm actually self-taught when it comes to the guitar. It seemed simple enough for me to be able to teach myself." _How awkward... I don't want to talk to any of them, really._

"Does that mean you play other instruments?" Kai inquired, curious at what her tone implied.

"Piano, violin, and harp. I've been classically trained in all three; guitar is something I only picked up in the past year." Normally, Rin loved to talk about herself and her accomplishments. But she wasn't dense enough to start boasting and bragging about them. This conversation felt way too forced for her to be comfortable about opening up excessively.

They offered her a few admiring compliments, and then silence reigned until they reached the train station. Rin briefly wondered if Saki and Soomi had made it back home safely.

There wasn't much talking done on the train ride back home, excluding a one-sided conversation Makoto had with her. Surprisingly, Kuroo was silent, staring out the window of the train again, this time a much different look in his eyes. Earlier that afternoon, his gaze had been dull and dead as he was (or so they had thought).

Halfhearted farewells were offered when they all parted ways at their station, the team sending Kenma to walk her home since they lived in the same direction.

Out of all of the boys, Kenma was probably her favorite one thanks to how he stayed quiet most of the time, gaming his life away on his phone or PSP.

"What did he say?"

Rin startled, turning to look at Kenma, who was trailing behind her by a few feet. "Sorry, what?" _The hell is he on about?_

The boy's amber eyes flashed. "Who else? I'm talking about Kuroo."

Beside Rin, Kuroo did a double take, his jaw slacking. And he wasn't the only one. Rin managed to gather her bearings after a few moments of slack-jawed silence. She steeled herself. "I have no idea what you're talking about." _Shit, now he's only going to think that I'm lying!_ "Are you talking about your bedhead captain? Because I haven't even spoken a word to him before. Except for that day."

Kenma glanced away. "It was a joke."

"... A _joke_?" Rin narrowed her eyes. _That was way too suspiciously accurate to be a joke...! But still..._ "You sure have a weird sense of humor, Pudding-Head." Maybe that would make him go away.

Unfortunately for her, people called him that so often that he was practically desensitized to it. "You're pretty weird as well." Then he looked down at his PSP again, ending their talk abruptly.

"I live just over the hill," Rin said when they reached Kenma's house. "It's not far, so you don't need to walk me there."

"Okay." Kenma had no qualms about being let off 'walking home duty' early. Without even saying goodbye, he disappeared into his home, the door slamming shut.

"Creep," Rin said to no one, trudging up the hill.

"I swear, if I wasn't so happy right now, I'd hit you for that," Kuroo said, sounding deceptively cheerful. "That's my best friend you're talking about, you know. And when I'm alive, I'm going to force feed him apple pie until he explodes." _I'm alive! I'm actually... alive!_

"Dude!" Makoto exclaimed, making a face.

"If that's how you treat your best friend, I wouldn't stick around to find out what your enemies have to go through," Rin remarked. How ironic that she would be the ones saying those words, considering how poorly she had treated a certain piggy all her life.

That scheming grin appeared on Kuroo's face. "Oya oya? Is our stuck-up tsundere actually afraid?" He'd not missed the brief spark of uncertainty in her amaranth eyes, even in the dark.

"Of a ghost? Hardly. You're going to have to find someone else to haunt." As if to emphasize her point, Rin yawned obnoxiously. But that yawn quickly turned into a very real and aggressive one. "Fuckshit."

"Potty mouth," Makoto said, "Honestly, someone ought to rinse your mouth out with soap, prissy sissy sis."

"As if you can talk! You swear just as much as I do, jackass! Just not in front of Masami-oba-chan, that's all..."

Kuroo looked on, amused and elated by the recent revelation as well as their silly argument.

"Shit, you're right!" Makoto's eyes widened. "I haven't said nearly enough bad words today and we're nearly home! I'll have to start now!" He cleared his throat before letting loose a string of sentence enhancers (see: expletives), "Fuck! Shit! Bitch! Cunt! Dick! Anus! _¡Me Cago en la Leche!_ "

"Hah?" Kuroo and Rin both muttered at the last curse. _That last one... wasn't even Japanese!_

"Mind telling us non-Spanish speakers what that means?" Kuroo asked as they arrived in front of Rin's house.

"Gladly," Makoto replied, and Rin's eyes widened ever so slightly when Masami pulled the door open from the inside. Too bad Makoto was facing Kuroo and not the open door. "It literally means 'I shit in milk'!"

"Makoto!" Masami gasped, horrified.

"GAH!"

* * *

The next morning, Rin shoved a jam-spread toast in her mouth and made her daily commute to school, stopping at the pedestrian light again. _Come on already... just turn green, why don't ya?_

"Hey, wait up! You left us behind again!" Makoto called as he and Kuroo caught up with her.

She rolled her eyes. "What are you talking about? Didn't you guys say you were going to go to the hospital to look for Kuroo's body?"

"The train station is this direction, so you're stuck with us for the next fifteen minutes." Kuroo smirked at her. "Too bad for you... what was it again, Makoto?"

"Prissy sissy sis," Makoto supplied helpfully, grinning like a shark.

"Ah, that's right. Prissy. Sissy. Sis." Kuroo enunciated each word clearly, making Rin grit her teeth.

"Fuck. Off," Rin threw back.

The light turned green and she all but ran across the road, away from her two ghostly bothers.

 _This normal school life thing really isn't going as I planned,_ she thought as she left Kuroo and Makoto in the dust. _Perhaps I need to make a bit more effort to have a normal school life..._

* * *

 ** _A/N: This was a short chapter with a long wait... oops. I had a bit of writer's block with this fic and I really wanted to complete Days of Shouko first._**

 ** _Celiaatje24: I'm not ready to give up my emotional attachment to it either...! q.q_**


	7. The Band

_There is a strange reluctance on the part of most people to admit they enjoy life._

— _William Lyon Phelps_

* * *

Perhaps she had gotten _too_ accustomed to the ghostly presence of her cousin (and perhaps Kuroo as well), because stepping into Nekoma High without them seemed like a strange new experience to Rin.

Sweat beaded at the back of her neck as she went over to her locker to change into her indoor shoes. She couldn't shake off that feeling that she was being watched... Rin swiped one hand over her neck to wipe away the perspiration, lifting up her braid as she did so. Her hair was getting too long and the braid made her look like an orange-haired Elisa from that one animated movie, Frost. She'd have to cut it soon—the only reason she kept it this long to begin with was because her mother insisted upon it.

But now that she was far away from that woman, she could do whatever the hell she wanted with her hair. _Okaa-san means well,_ she thought, _If only she could just be less bothersome..._

She nearly dropped her shoes when she realized something. _Shit! Okaa-san's assistant is going to be dropping by this Thursday to check on me! That's tomorrow!_

Her mother's assistant, Hanako, had known Rin all her life. In a way, Hanako had filled the role of a competent guardian; there was no way that she would believe that Rin would be capable of surviving by herself without some outside help. After all, Ryouta Rin had never lifted a finger to do housework and chores in her life. And then there was the question of lunch! Hanako would be arriving in the afternoon, and Rin had no doubt that she would be examining whether Rin ate her regular meals or not. Hanako was sharp—she wouldn't believe that Rin was capable of cooking until she saw it for herself.

She felt someone tap her shoulder, and jumped, letting out a small shout as she did so. Her socks sliding across the floor as she whipped around, Rin breathed out a small sigh when she saw Saki grinning at her.

"You again?" Rin sniffed, putting on her indoor shoes.

"Hey, don't sound so tortured," Saki said, fiddling with the pair of goggles sitting on her head. In an odd way, it suited her. Her white hair was windblown as usual, her electric yellow eyes practically glowing as she continued, "Look, I get that I was probably being super pushy before... and what I'm about to offer you was Soomi's idea, not mine."

Rin stared at her. "... Go on." There was still a significant amount of time before class began as it was still early in the morning.

"Well..." For the first time, Saki sounded almost uncertain. "Instead of becoming a permanent member of our band club, why don't you have a trial period first? At the end of the two week trial, you can decide whether you want to join or not."

Rin frowned. "A whole two weeks of spending time with you after school? Don't kid around, I have better things to do."

Saki clapped her hands together, suddenly bowing. "Please! Just give us a chance." She stood back up, her eyes slightly damp with tears. "You have no idea what this means to me and Soomi. We said we were going to play together in high school! Me on the drums and her on the keyboard! So please, Kohaku-chan! We can't do this without you!"

"I..." _I don't care,_ she wanted to say. She had no reason to help them. She hardly knew them, nor did she want to. Cursing herself inwardly, she said, "Fine." Saki's face instantly lit up and Rin added cuttingly, "Don't take this as a guarantee! I'm only doing this because I feel sorry for you." _Fuck me gently with a chainsaw, I actually agreed._

"YATTA!" Saki whooped, grabbing Rin by the hands and twirling the both of them around. "I knew you'd warm up to me! Everybody does!"

"GET OFF ME!"

Saki continued to grin even with the red slap mark on her face.

* * *

After school, Saki dragged Rin to the band room, holding her by the sleeve of her sailor uniform.

"I can't stay for long," Rin warned, "I have to pick up my little brother from toddler school."

"Oh, pish posh!" Saki said flippantly. "We've got plenty of time! It's time for you to meet the gang."

"Gang?" Rin echoed. _I thought it was just her and Soomi. Did she... lie to me?_ "Kenshin-san—"

"Call me Saki!"

Annoyed, Rin corrected, "Saki-san—"

"Just Saki!"

"SAKI!" Rin snapped, yanking her wrist away from her, nearly falling over at the abrupt stop. "What gang are you talking about?"

"Oh, well..." Saki laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "It's not really a gang. Soomi and the supervising teacher, Chinatsu-sensei, are waiting in the club room for us to arrive, you see."

"Chinatsu-sensei?" Rin murmured contemplatively. _That would explain why Chinatsu-sensei has been staring at me all day._

Saki fixed the goggles on her head. "Eeyup, the very same one that's our homeroom teacher. She doesn't really have anything better to do considering she's a total Christmas Cake."

"... Christmas Cake?" The two girls stopped in front of the sliding wooden door of the music room, Saki grabbing the handle. "What the hell you mean by that?"

"Oh, well, you know," Saki said, giggling, "No one ever wants to eat a Christmas Cake after Christmas Day. Basically—" Saki yelped when the door opened from the other side, revealing a ticked off Chinatsu.

"Yes, go on," Chinatsu said through gritted teeth, "Why don't you tell her allll about my unmarried woman status?!" She raised a rolled up magazine and began to hit Saki on the head. "You little brat!"

"ITAI! I'm sorry, sensei!" Saki warbled. "Forgive me!"

After everything settled down, Rin found herself sitting on a table with her homeroom teacher, Saki, and Soomi. Saki was leaning back in her chair with her legs spread in a most inappropriate and masculine manner, while Soomi was sitting beside her with her back straight and her legs closed.

"So," Chinatsu said as she poured everyone tea. "I've seen you three hanging around each other before. I'm guessing that introductions aren't needed?"

"Yes," Rin said immediately.

"Aw, come on," Saki butted in, "Why not? I mean, we hardly know each other, really. I'll go first!"

"Etto, Saki..." Soomi trailed off, smiling apologetically at Rin. "Once you get her started, there's really no way of stopping her."

"Damn right!" declared Saki, standing up and wilting only slightly when both the teacher and Rin gave her dry looks. She said back down, clearing her throat. "Anyway, the name's Kenshin Saki. I've always wanted to be in a band, and I can't wait for more members to join! Soomi's been my best friend since elementary school." She thumbed her chest, winking. "I saved her from a bunch of bullies so she helped me study in return, hehe! And we've been friends ever since."

"Saki!" cried Soomi, blushing. "They didn't need to know that...!"

"Aw, don't be like that!" Saki ruffled Soomi's dark hair, grinning. "You secretly adore me, kiddo!"

Soomi introduced herself next. "My name is Miko Soomi. I've been learning piano since I was five and I've played in a few national concerts here and there. My dream is to play in an international competition, and I really hope that will happen soon. I come from a Catholic Korean family. I was born in Korea, but moved to Tokyo when I was very young."

Chinatsu let loose a laugh. "If only I could have you in my class instead of Kenshin-san! You seem like a really good student."

Soomi blushed. "N-not really... I'm not a top student."

"Oh, I'm sure you can be one easily of you wanted to. Now, Kohaku-san, why don't you introduce yourself?"

"Well..." Rin hesitated. _What should I say? Soomi talked about her dream, Saki talked about Soomi and her band dream... Does that mean I have to talk about a dream too?_ Now that she really thought about, what was her dream? She didn't know. She didn't have one. "My name is Ry—I mean, Kohaku Rin. I used to attend a school in the Miyagi Prefecture before I moved to Tokyo for... family reasons. Right now, all I want is to have an average high school experience and not worry about adult things." _Which is why I_ really _joined the club if I have to be honest with myself..._

"Wonderful," Chinatsu said, "So what instruments do you all play? I know that Soomi plays piano..."

"In the band, I'll be playing the keyboard," Soomi said, and Chinatsu nodded.

"The drums for me," Saki put in, using imaginary drumsticks to hit some imaginary drums on the table. "I can't understand how people move their fingers so fast for piano and guitar..."

"I play three instruments," Rin said, feeling pleasure bloom in her chest. Oh, how she loved showing off... But, somehow, it was losing its appeal every time she did it. "Violin, piano, and guitar."

"Nice!" Saki exclaimed. "For the band, we already have a keyboard player," she gestured to Soomi, "and we don't really need a violin player. So do you mind doing lead guitar?"

Rin shrugged. "Not really, no. But we seem to be missing something in this band... Like a bass player and a rhythm guitarist."

"The club is still looking for new members," Chinatsu explained, "So it's really not complete yet. A rhythm guitarist would be pretty useful, but what we need most right now is a bass player."

"Mmhm..." Saki murmured. "Looks like we're going to have to put up some posters! I'll design all of them, so don't worry about it, Rin, Soomi."

At the end of their club meeting, they all went their separate ways, Soomi and Saki heading home while Rin went down to the train station.

She halted when she saw Makoto and only Makoto waiting for her at the front gate. "Where's the Bedhead Captain?"

To her surprise, Makoto smiled, if a little sadly. "Where do you think? The bastard's back... in his body."

* * *

To say that it'd been the craziest two days in his life would be an understatement. As soon as his soul was returned to his body, he'd woken up with bruised ribs and a mild fractured ulna that was apparently already healing now that his body was no longer an empty shell.

Kuroo held his hands up in front of his face, blinking steadily. In his ghost form, he'd had less... feeling, to put it on way. Things still hurt and he still felt, but not to the extent of... well, _now._

The boy pinched his face, relishing at the pain he felt as his skin was nipped between his fingernails—he'd have to cut them soon, even if they weren't _that_ long. It was then he began to cry, sobbing violently while laughing hoarsely like a maniac at the same time. His hair was an oily mess—shouldn't the hospital have washed it?—but he was relatively clean otherwise. Besides his hair, the hospital had done a good job of washing him while he was unconscious.

Everything that happened after that was a massive blur. His mother was there to greet him a while after he awoke, and he recalled that there had been lots of crying on both of their parts.

Then the doctor had declared that he was to abstain from doing any strenuous physical activity for a while, which meant no volleyball. Kuroo couldn't even find it in himself to care (though he knew he would throw a fit about it later).

All that mattered was that he was back.

He'd forgotten how warm his mother felt; it only returned to him when she embraced him for the first time in forever.

* * *

 _ **A/N: And Kuroo returns to the land of the living. His 'death' isn't the main plot of the story; it was just to give things a kickstart around here. Nope, the real focus is on... other things. Mostly interpersonal relationships, I guess. And I took him out the volleyball team for a reason. Volleyball is almost never the main focus in my fics... so if you like epic volleyball battles and comradery, I'm afraid you're going to have to hit up a different genre of fanfiction.**_

 _ **This story was inspired by Orange Marmalade and K-On! (:**_

 _ **Please review~**_


	8. Octopus Friends

_Friends come and go, like the waves of the ocean, but the true ones stay like an octopus on your face._

— _Anonymous_

* * *

Hanako—she would only ever be Hanako to important people—walked up the hill in her square heels, her knees stretching her pencil skirt as she trudged upward. It was early in the morning and Rin would still be at home.

She patted down her clothing before rapping her knuckles smartly across the door. The door opened a moment later, and Hanako was mildly surprised to see Ryouta Rin dressed in her sleepwear with an sauce-splattered apron draped over her front. A pleasant scent wafted up Hanako's nose, and she couldn't help but gape.

"Hanako-san," Rin greeted, stepping aside to welcome her in. "I was just cooking breakfast."

Hanako quickly recovered as she took off her shoes and put them aside. "Oh, is that right? Okay, who did you hire this time? At least confirm that they're a credible source..."

Rin rolled her eyes. "Hey, give me a little credit, will you? I made it myself, thank you very much. Wanna see?" Hanako nodded, and Rin led her into the kitchen, where there was something on the stove.

Hanako blinked. "I... see. Judging from the food splatters on the walls, this really is your work... I'm impressed, Ryouta-san. The last time I saw you—which wasn't at all long ago, mind you—you couldn't even crack an egg properly. Who's been teaching you?"

"A friend from school," Rin said easily as she flipped the pancake in a pan, her arm shaking as she nearly dropped it. She hoped Hanako didn't notice. Masami had been thorough with last night's cooking cram session, and had stated that pancakes were quite a basic breakfast dish. In fact, Masami and Makoto were both watching her cook from the other end of the room, Makoto laughing hysterically.

"I'm glad," Hanako breathed a sigh, visibly relieved. "Now I feel like I've worried for nothing. Anyway, keep up your grades and all that jazz."

Rin raised a brow at her lack of professionalism. "Are you sure you want to be saying that in front of me?"

The woman waved a hand. "Ryouta-san, I basically raised you. I'd call you Rin-chan, but Ryouta-san just sounds smoother to me." She suddenly perked up. "That reminds me, how are things with your baby cousin?" Hanako turned to Jiro, who was impatiently waiting for his breakfast. "Has he been any trouble?"

"Trouble yes, but I can handle it," Rin reassured her. "Don't worry about me, Hanako-san, I can take care of myself."

"If you're sure..." Hanako checked her watch. "I have to return to Miyagi now. I'll see you next Thursday, Ryouta-san."

"Looking forward to it."

As soon as Hanako was gone, Rin exhaled. "Finally!" She wriggled the pancake onto a plate. Masami was already helping her season the pancake. "My arm is trembling..."

"You're so weak," Makoto teased. "Where did all those taekwondo lessons go to?"

"I was five, you jerk!" Rin snapped, lifting the pancake and threatening to hit him with it. "My self defense skills are basic at most and you know that."

"Yeah, yeah..." Being the disgusting dead teenage boy he was, he stuck his pinkie up his nose and wriggled it. Rin cringed away from him.

"Oh, stop it, you two," Masami chided as they all took a seat at the table. "Makoto, I hope you're not bothering Rin at school too much."

"Me?" Makoto placed a hand over his heart. "Kaa-chan, how could you? I'm so hurt... But to answer your question, I'm having my own fun but I have boundaries too."

Rin snorted. "Like hell."

After more scolding and some yelling, Rin and Makoto finally left the house after the former changed into her school uniform and grabbed her guitar case. Rin's skirt blew in the breeze and she quickly pushed it down before the old man across the street could see (there were times where she caught him spying on her through a pair of binoculars). As they descended the hill, Rin was surprised to see the black hair of Kuroo walking in the distance. His back was turned to them; he was walking with his friend, Kenma. They looked to be closer than ever, their sides bumping every so often.

"You think he's okay?" Makoto asked, his eyes growing sad again.

"Should be," Rin said, "And if he isn't, well... that's not our problem."

"But he's our friend."

"Eh? Since when? Just because he tagged along for two days doesn't mean we're friends with him. He'll just go back to living his own life."

"I..." Makoto pouted. "I don't want that! It was nice having another guy to talk to and now... it's back to square one."

Ah, so that was what this was about. Rin coughed. "What about Soomi?"

Instantly, Makoto perked up. "Soomi? She's wonderful! If only she could notice me though. That'd be even better." He sighed dreamily, clasping his hands together.

A car with Masami driving passed them; she was off to take Jiro to toddler school. Rin often found herself questioning the sanity of her dead aunt. What if someone caught Jiro inside a car without a driver? That would be a recipe for disaster.

All of a sudden, Kuroo turned his head back, locking eyes with Rin for a split second. Then his gaze shifted to Makoto, alarm lighting up his eyes.

Rin felt her blood chill. Could Kuroo still... see Makoto? For his own sake, she certainly hoped not. Now that she could see Kuroo's front, she noticed that one of his arms was in a cast, probably still nursing an injury from his accident. He had only been clipped, she would later find out. He held her gaze for a few more seconds before turning again to listen to Kenma say something.

"Rin? You're zoning out again."

"Shut up, jerkass, I was thinking."

* * *

Kenma continued to speak as if he hadn't noticed Kuroo glance longingly in Rin's direction. Of course, there was no way in hell that Kenma could have possibly missed that look he gave her, but it was best if he kept quiet for now. There were still too many things to figure out when it came to Kohaku Rin and her... dead brother.

"It's going to be a major setback," Kenma said as he talked about Kuroo's injuries. "Sucks that you can't come back for a while... but we'll pull through in the end."

"Yeah, I know..." Kuroo heaved a sigh, glaring at his bandaged arm as he muttered a string of expletives. Kenma could have sworn that one was in Spanish of all things. Then he said, "You're right though. We'll make it." He chuckled lowly. " _Not_ making it is not an option, understand? The team's going to work twice as hard to make up for the lack of _me_."

This time, it was Kenma's turn to sigh, completely turned off by the idea of more vigorous exercise. "Hey, Kuro?"

"Yeah? What is it?" It was one thing Kenma had noticed about Kuroo, it was the slight change in his pattern of speaking. Ever since he woke up, he'd been talking in a... kinder... manner, if they even made sense. It wasn't like Kuroo was insensitive to begin with, but he was more _timid_ in a sense. Kenma recalled playing a game where two best friends who also happened to be polar opposites swapped bodies and had to act like each other for a week. Could it be that he and Kuroo were unknowingly undergoing a personality transplant? He shook the thought away.

"About Kohaku," Kenma began, "I saw you looking over at her just then."

"Eh? Really?" Kuroo tried to sound lighthearted by failed miserably. And he knew it. "Okay, fine, you got me. But if you think we're suddenly dating, I'm afraid you're tragically incorrect."

"I don't think that," Kenma said truthfully. "But she..." He trailed off, unsure of what exactly to say next. "Do you have any connection with her?"

Kuroo deliberated the answer for so long that Kenma managed to level up before the bedhead captain spoke again.

"A connection? I don't think what we have is a connection. More like two people brought together because of bizarre events." She'd been the only one who'd been able to see him in his ghostly state, and because of that, he'd naturally gravitated toward her and her dead cousin, Kohaku Makoto. He couldn't even be sure that they would ever interact again now that he was alive and well as a crash victim could be. There really wasn't what one could call a _connection_ , per se, so he chose not to refer to it as such.

He hadn't yet told Kenma about his life as a phantom, but now was as good as any time as ever.

"What kind of bizarre events?" he simply asked, his eyes boring into Kuroo. There weren't really any secrets between them, and the only time Kuroo could remember lying to him was when they were kids—Kuroo had rolled his ankle trying to perform a delayed spike in his backyard, and when Kenma had inquired about it, Kuroo had lied to him, saying that he had gotten injured by falling down the stairs. He'd feared that Kenma would push him not to pursue volleyball. Kenma wasn't the most open book around, but Kuroo suspected that he'd known the truth all along, so it was left like that.

They reached the pedestrian light, and Kuroo sincerely hoped that Rin and Makoto wouldn't catch up to them anytime soon. It was bad enough that he could still somehow see Makoto even though he was all flesh and blood now; he just needed some solitude to explain things to Kenma.

Kenma paused his game, which Kuroo had come to know as quite a significant thing. Whenever Kenma halted his precious games, it meant that he was giving you his full and utmost attention.

"When I got into that accident on Monday—"

"I've told you _countless_ times to pay more attention to your surroundings," Kenma said sharply, feeling his heart pound just from hearing those words.

"I know, I'm _sorry_. I should have listened to you. I'm sorry." The apology was genuine, and Kenma gave him a short glance. They'd already had this conversation when he was allowed home last night. When Kenma didn't say anymore, Kuroo continued more quietly, "You're not going to believe this but I," he searched for the words, "left my body somehow."

Kuroo gauged Kenma's response, waiting for the younger boy to bluntly state that he didn't believe a word of what he was saying.

What Kenma said next was indeed blunt, but not the answer that Kuroo had expected. "You mean like a ghost?"

Kuroo's eyes widened marginally. "Yeah, like that. You know, you're taking this better than I expected." Then again, Kenma had been the one to sense something off about Rin the first time they had crossed paths, so he really couldn't be that surprised.

"I knew it," Kenma whispered, his fingers twitching. His hands were never still, even when free of a volleyball or a gameboy. "I knew it."

The pedestrian light turned green and the two boys crossed the road. A blonde lady dressed in a business outfit passed them, talking rapidly in French on her phone.

"Kohaku-san...!" The corners of Kenma's mouth quirked upward ever so slightly. "She can see ghosts! She could see _you_! Last night, you were with her, and—and..." Kuroo had never seen Kenma get this excited before. "Kuro, I believe you. I believe you. While you were a ghost, you hung out with her, didn't you? You had to—and her brother, Makoto!" He exhaled, calming down. "Everything makes sense now. Almost." The girl was still a mystery to him, demure one moment and snippy the next. It was like she was trying to constantly wrestle one personality into submission.

"Kenma..." Kuroo blinked slowly at him. "Thank you." He passed his hand through his messy hair, which his mother had helped him clean last night. His arm was still a little sore and she had insisted. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you when you told me about your suspicions."

"Don't be. If I were you, I wouldn't have believed you either." To emphasized the finality of his statement, he turned on his PSP again and started mashing the buttons, seemingly at random. But Kuroo knew that most, if not all, of his button mashing were calculated moves. Kenma started to talk as he battled monster after monster. "What are you going to do now? You can't play volleyball until you heal. You know that. So what are you going to do?" A change of subject was just what the doctor ordered, truly.

Kuroo shrugged, feeling his still-healing forearm pang. "Whatever I can. Study? My Japanese History grades have been slipping a little and college entrance exams aren't too far away."

"Won't you be bored?"

"Not if I crack open a science textbook once in a while to compromise for the mundanely inane subject that we call Japanese History. Or something else that's interesting, like new volleyball techniques, or maybe a book on how to deal with frustrating manchildren like Lev."

"What about your guitar?" Kenma gave him one of those looks again. "If you're going to practice, don't work too hard on it."

"Ah, you know me so well, Kenma~" Kuroo gave him an affectionate pat on the head, grinning his feline-like smile. "Don't worry about it, I won't." When Kenma shot him another _look,_ Kuroo continued, "I swear, I won't! Scout's honor. But don't expect me to keep my hands away from my precious Firestar. She was a birthday present, you know."

"I know."

On his ninth birthday, Kuroo had received a Rickenbacker 4003 bass guitar for his birthday from his mother and her then boyfriend, a musician. He'd thrown a tantrum over it, having wanted a new volleyball instead. His mother's then boyfriend had been kind to him despite his whining, offering to return the guitar for a volleyball. He'd known Kuroo too well, really—the moment that he offered that alternative, guilt had immediately overwhelmed the small boy and he had meekly stated that he would keep it and give it a try.

In retrospect, he was glad for his mother's ex-boyfriend's involvement in his life. Without him, Kuroo would've never been able to unwind by playing his bass after long school days. He had an amp come with the guitar, but the neighbors often complained about the noise so he settled for some soundless chord strumming and plucking after a hot shower.

They arrived at the front of the school, where the entire Team Nekoma were there, having anticipated their captain's return. There was a lot of shouting, weeping, and an attempt at sounding like an angry parent from Yaku (before he finally gave up and joined in the group hug that happened sooner or later).

As the team walked through the school gates, chatting loudly amongst themselves, they passed by a white-haired girl with goggles on her head. She was standing in front of the school's bulletin board, taping up posters in free spaces. The girl stepped back and placed her hands on her hips, admiring her work. She'd stayed up all night designing and drawing those posters.

"Hm? Saki?" Rin walked up to her, her guitar case strapped across her body. "What are you doing?"

"Ohoho! You haven't seen our club's advertising posters yet, have you? Well, behold! What do you think, Kohaku-chan?"

 _The Band Club is looking for a bassist!_ the sheet of paper read, _Come to the music room in the south side of the school after school to audition!_ There was an intricately drawn bass guitar smack dab in the middle of the page.

"It..." Rin scrutinized it. "... Came out better than I expected. Being artistic doesn't suit your character."

"Ehh?! What do you mean by that?"

Rin tossed her a backward glance as she walked past the white-haired girl. "You're supposed to be the one that gets excited and fired up over everything with no regard for your grades or things other than what you're interested in. A genki girl."

"Hey, I'm not just some... anime character!" Saki huffed as she caught up with Rin. The orange-haired girl tried to pick up the pace but Saki easily kept up. "Don't stereotype me, you..."

"Don't follow me."

"We have class together," Saki pointed out.

"Shit."

Rin seemed to glare at the empty spot beside her for a second, puzzling Saki. But the confused girl just brushed it off.

"Did you do your history homework? I couldn't figure out the last question or find the answer in the textbook," Saki said, placing her hands behind her head and sighing. "Ah, geez, high school is tough..."

"I didn't get that one either," Rin said sullenly, tightening her grip on the strap of her guitar case. "So don't bother me about it."

"Man, you're so grumpy all the time!" Saki complained. It was truth—it seemed like Rin was perpetually annoyed by something, and Saki wondered if it bad something to do with all the empty spaces she glared at all the time.

Rin ignored her, scowling at yet another unoccupied pocket of air as she kept walking, entering the school building and heading over to the row of second year lockers to change her shoes. Saki didn't follow her this time, miffed by her behavior.

 _What's her problem?_ Saki thought irately. _Maybe if she just learned to be a bit nicer and caring, she wouldn't be so annoyed all the time._ Saki glanced at her empty hands before realizing that she was missing something. _AHHH! My book bag! I must have left it over at the bulletin board!_

She rushed back to the board, but there was a black-haired male already there, examining her book bag.

"Excuse me!" she shouted, sidling up him. "I think that's mine... senpai," she added when she recognized his face. It was none other than Kuroo Tetsuro, who had broken away from his group momentarily.

"Hm? Oh, here." He returned the book bag to her. Saki cast him a suspicious look. "I didn't do anything if that's what you're worried about," he said. "I was just checking the daily announcements when I noticed it."

"Right..." Saki knew of Kuroo Tetsuro. Pretty much everyone in the school did. He was the captain of the volleyball team, and was rumored to be a notorious womanizer, though more rumors about him having a boy and boy relationship with one of his teammates were equally prominent. Saki didn't know what to think about him—she'd never seen him engage in any activities that would confirm or deny either rumor. He was certainly popular with the ladies, but he pushed them away more than anything else. Some said he was a misogynist at heart. Others said he was an awkward cinnamon roll. "Well, thanks, I guess. See you later..."

They said their farewells and went their separate ways. Saki swallowed, tugging at the collar of her sailor uniform. She wasn't so much of a liar that she would tell herself that she didn't have _some_ infatuation with the guy. She was a heterosexual female, after all, and such things could not be helped.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Recently, fanfiction dot net has been bugged out... I and a bunch of people received almost 0 alerts for anything. Right now, the problem is teetering on being fixed and driving everyone nuts.**_


	9. Box of Chocolates

_Life was like a box of chocolates._

— _Forrest Gump_

* * *

Soomi summoned up her fiercest glare and pointed accusingly at her classmate, her finger trembling as she declared, "Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door! Quoth the Raven 'Nevermore'."

The student opposite her finished reciting Edgar Allan Poe's poem just as the bell rang for ten minute break time.

"Excellent, excellent!" trilled class 1-3's English teacher, giving the two students a round of applause. "Now for homework, everyone, read through the entire poem and write a page long analysis on the language techniques used by Edgar Allan Poe to depict the narrator's deteriorating psyche." She wrote down the work on the blackboard with some chalk as the students packed their books or noted down the homework in their diaries.

"Aw, are you serious?" Soomi heard the boy sitting behind her whine when she sat back down in her seat. "More homework? Like I don't already have a shit ton..." Haiba Lev tapped Soomi's shoulder, causing the black-haired girl to twirl in her seat.

"Yes, Haiba-kun?"

Lev pointed one long finger at the board. "Did you get any of that? My English is already pretty terrible and this is so advanced! How unfair."

"Oh!" Soomi perked up. English was one of her favorite subjects. "You just have to really think about it, Haiba-kun. Concepts we study in English are pretty abstract to begin with, so there are really no wrong or right answers like there are in math or science. Everything is ambiguous—you just have to use your imagination and think outside the box for a lot of things. For example, in 'The Raven', how do you think the narrator is feeling?"

"Um..." Lev flipped through his copy of the script, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead in concentration. "He's... mad? Scared?"

"I guess you could say that, but don't you think there should be a reason why he is feeling angry and scared?"

"Maybe he just had a bad day."

"Etto..." Soomi chuckled nervously, spreading out her hands in an apologetic gesture. "I'm afraid that kind of simple reasoning doesn't cut it in high school."

"Well, shit," Lev mumbled, flopping onto his desk. "I've got nothing else."

Pitying the silver-haired behemoth, Soomi explained, "You know how the narrator mentions someone called Lenore in the beginning of the poem?"

"Sounds familiar," Lev said, nodding slowly, his gaze completely blank.

Soomi did a double take at his obvious lack of attention to the subject at hand. Coughing into her closed fist, she said, "Why don't we talk about something else, instead...? How's your volleyball going, Haiba-kun?"

"Honestly? Not so good," Lev scowled, tapping his fingers on the table. "I mean, I think I'm doing pretty great personally, but this thing happened two days ago and now our captain can't play until he recovers."

"Oh my! Whatever happened?"

"He got hit by a car—oops!" Lev clapped his hands over his mouth, guilty. "I wasn't supposed to tell!" He grimaced, looking around suspiciously. "Promise you won't tell anyone?"

"Er, I guess. I don't know Kuroo-senpai all that well, so I can't make any judgement based on a second hand source anyway. He got hit by a car..." She lowered her voice. "But he's okay now, right?"

"Right, but he still has to recover and he's got orders from the doctor to take it easy, which means no volleyball. We didn't want this to get out because it'd cause a panic, but," he shrugged, "I can trust you, right?"

"I'll keep your secret," she agreed, "Cross my heart."

"That's good enough for me. Since the captain is off the team until further notice, we're going to have to redesign all of our offence and defence strategies, especially defence; just in case he doesn't recover in time for nationals or even just practice matches." The silver-haired Russian let out another exasperated huff. "I haven't spiked a ball for ages because of this!" His gaze softened just a tad. "I hope he gets better soon..."

Soomi nodded sympathetically. "Me too."

"So what have you been up to, Miko-chan?"

"Nothing much," Soomi admitted, grateful for the change of subject. Kuroo's scenario seemed far too alike to the cause of Makoto's death for comfort. "The principal approved our Band Club and we're looking for a bassist right now."

"Wow, a band?! That sounds so cool. I wish I could join but I'm already in the volleyball club."

"You play bass?"

"No, but I can learn. I mean, all you gotta do is pluck the strings, right? It can't be that hard."

Soomi sweatdropped, smiling apologetically. "I don't play bass, but I really don't think that's how it works. Do you know anyone else who plays bass?"

"Hmm..." Lev rubbed his chin. "Well, there was this one time that the team all went over to Kuroo's house to eat snacks and study... oh, yeah!" He snapped his fingers, his face lighting up. "I remember that there was a red electric guitar leaning against the wall in his bedroom."

Soomi blinked, absently noticing the janitor clean the basketball court outside through the window. "Kuroo-senpai? Really?" _That's interesting._

* * *

Lunchtime really could not have come sooner for Rin. When the bell rang, she packed up her books and left the classroom for the vending machines, which were just down the hall.

She cursed her luck when she saw that they'd run out of her favorite melon soda, and changed her course of direction to the vending machines located at the outside hall, near the basketball court.

There was a grassy slope preceding the court, and Rin could only make out the heads of the players as she waited for her melon soda to roll down.

 _I wonder if Makoto is down there?_ She collected her soda and popped it open. _If he is, he'd better not be causing any trouble._ Rin felt her skin prick uncomfortably as she realized something, _Those guys must be his friends._

Her worries were quenched when Makoto sidled up to her. "Yo. What's shakin', bacon?"

"Nothing much." Rin finished her soda and sighed through her nose. "Just after school meet ups with Saki and Soomi at the music room to see recruit any bass players."

"I'm guessing that job at the coffee shop is no longer gonna be your thing?"

Rin snorted and tossed the empty can in a nearby bin. It bounced off the outer rim and rolled for a bit before falling into the bin. "It was never my thing to begin with. But if I still have time and they let me, I might do a performance here and there at the shop."

Makoto nodded. "What do you want to do now?"

"Eh... I don't really know. You?"

"I was thinking of watching them play," Makoto said, pointing toward the basketball court, which was still partially hidden by the grassy bank. "It'd be nice..."

She shot him a look. "Are you sure you're okay with that?"

"Yeah, I..." He swallowed. "I'll be fine."

"Look. If you're going to—"

"I said I'm fine!" he snapped. "Can we just watch?"

Rin frowned. "... If you want."

Silently, the pair left the vending machines and stalked over to the edge of the bank. There was a tree there still full of orange and red leaves despite the weatherman's predictions of winter's early coming. Makoto sat down at the base of the tree, Rin beside him.

Rin noticed a few more girls crowding around at the tree, all of them gushing and blushing at the boys.

"Go, go, Shinwoo!" one of the girls shouted, holding up a sign.

"Shinwoo?" Rin glanced at Makoto. "That doesn't sound like a Japanese name."

"That's because it's not," a girl nearby answered her, "He's from Korea!" She sighed in bliss. "Isn't that cool...?"

"He's a third year," another girl added, fanning herself. "And a really hot one at that!"

"And Soomi's older brother," mumbled Makoto. "Except they have different dads. Soomi's mom is a pretty big deal in Asia, and Shinwoo's the bastard child she had from a previous lover. Shinwoo's always trying to one-up Soomi in some way since she's technically the heir. He's a piece of shit, honestly."

"Yes, and that's totally not biased coming from you," Rin murmured, sneaking a sneer at her ghost cousin. "You think every male is a piece of shit when it comes to Soomi..."

"Ah, whatever!" growled Makoto, folding his arms behind his head and leaning against the tree trunk. "He's no one important anyway."

"If you say so."

As Shinwoo laughed and punched his friend in arm when they scored another point, another boy tapped his shoulder, frowning at the bank shot that Shinwoo had just made.

"Hey, Shinwoo-san, that was a foot foul," the brown-haired boy accused, and Rin vaguely remembered his face.

 _What's his name again?_ she wondered. _Oh_ — _Inuoka, right. I didn't know he played basketball as well._

"Eh?" Shinwoo glanced at Inuoka over his shoulder, his black hair getting caught in the breeze. "How would a volleyball player know what a foot foul is in basketball?"

"I'm not dumb," Inuoka said indignantly, disliking the condescending manner Shinwoo spoke in. "Everyone saw that it was a foot foul—"

"What did I tell you?" Makoto said to Rin as the boys sorted out their differences. "He's a right bastard."

"Too bad," Rin said, mostly to herself, "He's pretty cute."

Suddenly, Kuroo was there, grabbing the shoulders of Inuoka and Shinwoo and forcing them apart before they could get into a fist fight. The black-haired captain was a few centimeters taller than the both of them.

"But Kuroo-san!" Rin heard Inuoka protest.

"You should control your team members better!" snapped Shinwoo.

Rin didn't get to hear Kuroo's response to the both of them, but judging by the way their faces fell when Kuroo reprimanded them, it had been scathing and satisfying for Kuroo. She thought she heard something like 'get your ass to training' told to Inuoka.

"Well, that was interesting," Rin remarked, getting up and stretching. _Just another two classes to go through and auditions._ As much as she hated to admit it, she doubted that anything as interesting as a near fist-fight would be happening today.

* * *

"Oh, hell no," was the first thing Rin said when she and Makoto walked into the music room; the first thing she saw was Saki having an animated argument with Shinwoo, who in turn was pointing an accusing finger at Kuroo, who had the biggest shit-eating grin on his face. Both of the boys were carrying guitar cases.

She was about to turn back and close the door and never set foot into that room again when Soomi, who was standing to the side, noticed her.

"Oh, hi, Kenshin-chan!"

 _Curse you, Soomi, and your adorable Korean face._

Everyone turned to her all at once, excluding Soomi, who was already facing her.

"You?" Kuroo said, tilting his head to one side. "I didn't know that you were in the band club... Kohaku-san." _Oya oya? What an interesting new development. It might even be worth putting about with this guy's arrogant face._

"Oh, good, you're here!" Saki exclaimed, flustered. "Can you tell this asshole that I will _not_ be disqualifying Kuroo-senpai even though he's technically in another club already?"

"Asshole?" Shinwoo repeated, affronted. "So I'm an asshole for wanting the rules followed? It clearly says in the rule book that a student isn't allowed to belong to two clubs! I'm simply saving Kuroo-san more pain and stress in the future."

"You know, if you'd just _listen_ to me," Kuroo said, irritation present in his voice, "You'd know that I've already gotten permission from the principal. He encourages it, actually."

"You—"

"Now, now, now, now, now, now," Soomi tried to appease them, smiling contritely.

 _Wow!_ everyone thought at once, sweatdropping. _Six times!_

"You both play bass, right?" Soomi asked, and they both nodded. "I don't see why we can't have two bass players in our band. A lot of bands have more than one bass player, actually."

"Why the hell does Shinwoo want to join, anyway?" Makoto said loudly from the doorway, only acknowledged by Kuroo (who noticed him for the first time) and Rin, who was standing in front of him. "I bet he just wants to keep tabs on Soomi!"

So Rin turned to Shinwoo. "Shinwoo-san, is there any reason why you want to join our club?"

"H-huh?" Shinwoo frowned, passing his hand through his raven hair. "Do I need a reason to?"

"People generally have reasons for this sort of thing," Rin countered, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at this boy.

"Oh," Soomi said, "that's because I asked him too the other day."

"Eh?!" Saki shot forward and grabbed her best friend by the shoulders. "You did what?! Why?!"

"We needed a bassist and Shinwoo-nii was available," Soomi explained, looking a tad hurt. "He declined, so I'm not sure why he decided to change his mind, but here we are."

"As fascinating as all of this is," Kuroo said, "Will we still have an audition or not? What if he's not good?"

Shinwoo scowled at him and opened his mouth to retort, but Saki beat him to it. "It doesn't matter if he's good or not, same goes for you. We can practice and get better! That's what being in a band is all about."

Suddenly, Makoto jumped and moved to the side, and Chinatsu walked into the room, smelling like lavender soap. "Hi, everyone," she greeted before noticing the tense atmosphere. She blinked. "Did I miss something? Oh!" Chinatsu pulled something out of her bag. "I brought chocolates!"

Rin sighed to herself, ignoring Makoto, who was jabbering into her ear about how Shinwoo was a right bastard. _Somehow, today's almost fist fight doesn't seem so interesting anymore._

* * *

 ** _A/N: Thanks for reviewing~_**

 ** _R &R!_**

 ** _Was thinking of using Korean honorifics with Soomi and Shinwoo, but hella heck, this is Japan and I don't want people to get confused_**


	10. How Did We End Up Like This?

_The world is so unpredictable. Things happen suddenly, unexpectedly. We want to feel we are in control of our own existence. In some ways we are, in some ways we're not. We are ruled by the forces of chance and coincidence._

— _Paul Auster_

* * *

 _How did things end up like this?_ Kuroo asked himself, bouncing his leg up and down under the table. It was a habit that his mother had unsuccessfully lectured out of him. _  
_

Kuroo Tetsuro had been surprised to see none other than Ryouta Rin appear at the doorway of the music room. And he certainly did not expect to be sitting down around a table with everyone not even ten minutes later, popping chocolates into his mouth.

He wasn't really a fan of sweets, but it was only polite to accept Chinatsu's candies. He just wished she would stop offering him more every time he finished chewing and swallowing.

Eventually, he held up his hand. "Sorry, but no thank you," he declined her offer, sweatdropping a little. "I don't want to spoil my appetite, sensei."

All the while, he could feel Shinwoo's stare boring holes through his head. It didn't really faze him much—he was used to getting similar looks from his opponents on the court—but he really wished the other black-haired male would stop doing it.

Chinatsu took no offence and instead offered some to Saki, who gladly accepted. There were chocolate smears on the side of her mouth, which Soomi was vainly trying to point out.

Kuroo resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Shinwoo, dangerously close to doing so. "Yes?" he drawled. "Take a picture, Jang-san, it'll last longer."

"You're only here because you're injured," Shinwoo said, ignoring the jibe. "Don't forget that. I don't lecture you on volleyball, so leave basketball to me. That's all I wanted to say... bastard."

"Try being less of a prick next time and maybe I'll consider it," Kuroo retorted, "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot, you're basically a cactus on steroids."

Makoto nodded vigorously in agreement. "See! What did I tell you, Rin, he's a total prick!"

Chinatsu cleared her throat. "Boys, if you're going to fight, at least try not to do it in front of a teacher."

"Sorry," both of them apologized through gritted teeth. As they turned away from one another, Kuroo's gaze met Rin's. In that split second, both of them asked each other silently, _How did we end up like this?_

At the end of the day, they got little to no practice done, because Saki and Chinatsu wanted to use their first meeting as a band to get to know each other well. Personally, Kuroo thought the most interesting thing about Shinwoo was that he liked to collect seashells, which really wasn't all that interesting to begin with. Why, Kuroo did not know, as the bastard never elaborated. He had looked to Soomi for answers, but she hadn't given him any either.

And the others?

It was common knowledge that Kenshin Saki had the energy of a chipmunk on mushrooms, but it was lesser known that she had a passion for art as well; in particular, she liked drawing butterflies. Strangely enough, she hadn't given much of an explanation on her artistic pursuits either. No matter—he doubted it was important, and if it was, he'd find out sooner or later. Most likely, it was just a quirk of hers.

Miko Soomi was a pianist who had gone national on more than one occasion while Rin...

Hadn't shared much about herself at all.

Kuroo stalked down the hallway, intending to observe his team do some plays. But he hadn't even reached the end of the hall when he heard Saki's voice ring out through the air, "Wait!"

 _Hm?_ Kuroo turned to see Saki calling after Rin, Shinwoo, and Soomi.

"W-why don't we all go get some meat buns, huh?" Saki said lamely, sweatdropping. "It can be our first outing as a band! You can come too, sensei-chan!"

 _She... sounds like an old guy trying to get his buddies to go drinking with him,_ Kuroo thought, a bead of sweat forming on his temple.

Scowling, Chinatsu whacked Saki upside the head when she referred to her as "sensei-chan" before softening. "I would, but I'm always so busy after school. Lots and lots of papers to mark, you know? You kids go have fun!" Checking her watch, she hurried past Kuroo and turned the corner before disappearing past yet another corner.

"No thanks," Shinwoo declined plainly, shoving his hands in his pockets and going the opposite direction from Kuroo. "I already ate." He headed for a side exit, placing his arms behind his head, careful not to smack his elbow against his guitar case, which was strapped around his body.

Soomi looked torn, but bowed apologetically to Saki before following her brother. "I have lots of work to do at home! I'm sorry, Saki!"

"Eh?! You too?!" She narrowed her eyes, placing her hands on her hips. "You're not going just because your brother is, are you?"

"N-no!"

"Like hell," Shinwoo shouted from the end of the hall before exiting.

"Ugh, you _jerk_!" Saki heaved a sigh. "Oh, alright then... Kohaku-chan, I don't suppose you—"

"No."

Makoto muttered something into Rin's ear, and Kuroo pointedly avoided looking at him, trying to force his feet to move.

Rin hastily left, ignoring Saki's halfhearted pleads. When the orange-haired girl vanished, Saki huffed, shoving her hands in her pockets and leaning against the door frame. Without really knowing what he was doing, Kuroo retraced his steps to meet her.

"What?" Saki muttered, her cheeks flushing as she reached up to adjust her goggles.

The words were out of his mouth before he knew it, "Want to go get meat buns?" Well, there went his afternoon plans. He cursed himself for his softness; for taking pity on his underclassman, who he barely knew.

"Eh? Really?" Saki instantly brightened before becoming suspicious. Why would a senpai want to go out with her of all people? And a handsome senpai at that. Things didn't add up.

"Sure." Kuroo shrugged. "Lead the way, Kenshin-chan."

"O-okay...!"

Saki got over her nervousness around him about halfway to the meat bun shop. It wasn't completely gone, but she didn't stumble over her sentences so much.

"I'm telling you, it's not like the meat buns you get from the convenience store," Saki insisted when Kuroo inquired about the quality of the meat buns. He pretended to be skeptical just to tease her. "For one, it isn't frozen!"

"I don't believe you," Kuroo said, snickering. "All meat buns sold in stores are processed, unless you find a really traditional store."

"Well, fine then. The noodles are just as good, so why don't we have those instead?"

"Works for me. Here's to a long life."

"Cheers!" Saki cried, throwing her arm up in the air.

Inside the shop, there were few available tables, so Kuroo and Saki sat next to an old couple talking about everyday things.

The noodles came almost as quickly as they arrived, and Kuroo and Saki both mixed the meat and vegetables within the noodles and soup. Every time she finished a bite, Saki would (with great difficulty) try to pick up noodles, one vegetable, and one meat all at once and force it into her mouth.

"Why not just eat it like normal?" Kuroo wondered as he slurped up his noodles with lightning speed.

"Nah. You see, I prefer to get the flavors all at once, because it tastes so much better that way!" Saki chewed happily, and Kuroo could have sworn he saw hearts appear in her eyes. "Soo good!"

"You remind of this guy I know," Kuroo chuckled, "Bokuto. He practically inhales food like a human vacuum. You're not far off from him."

"Hey! You don't say that to a girl!"

"It was a compliment," Kuroo protested, grinning, "Besides, I like it when people aren't ashamed to eat so full-on in public."

"Really?" Saki's ears turned red in embarrassment. "Well, thanks, I guess."

They continued their meal, going their separate ways afterward (Saki insisted that her home was literally around the corner and she needed no escort).

"We should do this again sometime!" Saki blurted as they awkwardly shook hands. "I mean... if you want."

Kuroo blinked once, then twice. Then, "Sure. I'd like that. You were right, the noodles were pretty good." With one last wave, he set off in the opposite direction of Saki, feeling far more aware of his surroundings that he was used to. His cheeks were hot, his ears red.

 _Shit,_ he thought gloomily, _This will all go down to shit because I am definitely not in the right mindset for a relationship right now. How did things end up like this?_

* * *

"Hmph." Rin snorted as she flipped through the pages of a particularly poorly drawn doujinshi. "The anatomy is so off with this one. How is it even being sold?" she asked herself, irritated at the lack of finesse. "Even the poster Saki made during the morning hours looks better than some of this. His neck? Too long? His hands? Too long and wide."

She put the doujinshi back, deliberately skipping past the yaoi section and moving onto the DVDs that the store put in a basket. Rin sifted through the DVD bin, halfheartedly searching for a movie worth her time. It was Saturday and an early afternoon, after all.

She hasn't watched too many movies in her lifetime, thanks to a high class upbringing. When she'd gotten older, she had tried to always break away from that lifestyle for brief moments. She had learned to swear through YouTube videos, her sentence enhancers serving like some sort of miniature rebellion against her airhead mother.

Even so, she was glad that she was of high social class. She didn't what she'd do if she hadn't been born to a socialite.

"Good afternoon, miss," a store clerk said as he ambled up to her. "Do you need any help? Looking for anything in particular?"

"Huh? No, it's okay. Carry on with your meandering."

The store clerk blinked at her before edging away.

As she turned back to the DVDs, a low chuckle distracted her, "You're not going to be able to get any dates with that attitude."

Rin whipped around to face Jang Shinwoo, frowning ever so slightly. Both of them regarded each other with thinly veiled disdain.

"I'm not after a relationship right now, thank you," Rin said tersely, hostile electricity zapping between them.

"Aren't you?" Shinwoo raised an eyebrow. "Because you strike me as someone lonely. You must be, if you resort to talking to yourself about how bad the anatomy of a doujinshi was."

Rin glared at him. "And why the hell were you eavesdropping?" _Ugh. He might have a nice face, but this guy is a total ass._

"Oh, get off your high horse," he snapped, "I was on the opposite side of the bookshelf when you started babbling about long necks and wide hands. Not my fault you only seem to talk in one volume."

"Opposite the bookshelf?" Rin's eyes widened slghtly. "But that's... the romance section."

Shinwoo balked.

"Gotcha, kimchi," Rin sneered.

"Fuck. And who're you calling kimchi? _Wae-nom_."

"Kimchi-yaro! You kimchi bastard!"

"Daikon head! What the hell's your problem?!"

"Right now? You!"

Their glares intensified, sending other patrons skittering away from the dark aura they were both exuding.

"I'm not stupid, you know. I knew what you said," Rin said flatly, crossing her arms. "I've been to Korea a few times."

"I thought as much," Shinwoo replied, his voice musing, though it still carried some irritated undertones, much like Rin's. "You must be some rich kid."

"Yeah, I am. Problem? I hear that your family is pretty rich too." It was a bit of a low blow, but she couldn't help herself.

"What exactly have you heard?" The pair, still somewhat vexed at each other but oddly making civilized conversation, meandered down the aisles and then through the exit.

"Oh, just a few things here and there." Now she really couldn't stop herself. "That you're a bastard child, that Soomi stole your birthright—"

"Who the hell did you hear from?" Shinwoo growled. "That's complete fucking bullshit."

"Oh, yeah? Then mind telling me the truth so I don't get it mixed up next time? And like I said, just from here and there."

"Like hell. I don't need to tell you anything. But for the sake of quashing these insufferable rumors, let me tell you two things. One, I'm not a bastard. Soomi and I may have different fathers, but that doesn't mean I was born out of wedlock or some shit like that. I'm simply from a previous marriage, that's all there is to it. And as for the inheritance..." He hesitated before scowling. "That's really none of your business."

"Fine, whatever. Soomi and I are likely going to be associates in the future, so I don't have any reason to get myself further in your bad side."

"At least you're smart. You know, I can't help but remember you from somewhere."

Rin started to sweat, her palms going clammy in the autumn breeze. "Oh?" She did her best to keep her voice casual, though she felt like she was going to break down in terrified tears any second. No way. She would not allow this asshole to uncover her greatest shame. "I guess I just have that face."

"No, it's not that." Shinwoo stared at her, and she hoped she wasn't quivering. "I—"

"Look at this cake shop!" Rin cut him off, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him inside the warm cake store, where a few people were milling about. "It's one of those one hour cake shops."

"I've always hated those," Shinwoo stated, a sneer on his face. "If you're going to eat cake, there shouldn't be any time limit or you won't have time to enjoy the delicate richness."

Rin stared blankly at him. _Now that I think about it, he ate the most chocolates out of all of us on Thursday. He ate even more than Saki, and that's saying something._ Between the two of them, they had taken out about ninety percent of the sweets, Saki going for the white and milk chocolate while Shinwoo went for dark chocolate or coffee-infused chocolate.

"I've never heard anyone describe the experience of eating a cake so romantically before," she remarked. "I take it that you like desserts?"

"Yeah. What's it to you?"

"Nothing, geez. It was just an observation. Stop acting like I have an ulterior motive." Well, he wouldn't be wrong. The only reason why she had dragged him into the cake shop in the first place was so that he wouldn't connect her face to the disgraced Ryouta Rin.

"Tiramisu," he said after an awkward silence, his cheeks reddening. "I like tiramisu. It's my favorite dessert. Especially when there's hazelnuts in it."

Since it was only fair, Rin replied, no less awkwardly, "I don't really have a favorite food. But I like melon soda. A lot," she added as an afterthought.

They stood to the side to allow others to pass.

"Are you actually going to get anything?" Shinwoo asked. "Or are we just wasting time?"

"I... no, not really. Just hoping that they sold melon soda in here."

"There's literally a convenience store opposite the road."

"Oh, is there?" Rin felt her her hair stick to her neck as she sweated nervously. "I didn't notice. Besides, I hear that it tastes better in cake shops." _Fuck me, that was too much._

Thankfully, Shinwoo only cast her a look. "You're a weird one, Kohaku Rin-san."

She tried not to be offended when he left the store immediately after, having no other reason to stay.

"Well, fuck you too," Rin muttered quietly, exiting after him and purposely walking the opposite direction. "You may be cute... but you're still kind of an asshole, Jang Shinwoo." _I can't believe that I'm going to have to see him every day after school. How did things end up like this?_

* * *

 ** _A/N: I'm desperately trying to reach the good bits in this story, so sorry if it feels rushed._**

 ** _Thanks for the reviews last chapter! I really appreciate it. Shinwoo is indeed a bastard... not a literal one, as we've found out in this chapter, but still one. He's got a bigger role to play in the story, as does Soomi. Makoto and Saki as well. All will have their own backstories and time to shine._**

 ** _at least, I hope they will because sometimes my writing can stray from the planned plot heh_**

 ** _Also, I made a typo last chapter, accidentally referring to Rin as Kenshin-chan rather than Kohaku-chan. It should be fixed now._**


	11. BRB FAM

I don't really like the way it's turned out so far. It seems to rushed and meh-ish, so I'm going to undergo a rewrite of this fic. I don't want to drop it (but I may have to if other commitments get in the way; like that Tennis Championship I'm entering this Easter Holidays) because I actually like what I've come up with in terms of plot.

I originally wrote Kindergarten Bully for my own enjoyment and I'm working on Orange City for the same reason. But then reviewers and readers started to pop up and I started to like having them around because it gave me all the more reason to keep on going.

So to make sure everybody reading the fic is going to enjoy it as much as they can (because individual personalities and preferences and all that jazz)...

I just need more time to sort out details, characters and character development, and all that jazz. So the story is going on a BRB as of now. I'll do my best to edit the first 10 chapters before moving on.

Also, sorry if you thought was an update.

And just a penny for your thoughts... Patre0n. I kinda-maybe want to give it a try since I'm a broke af teenager but I'm too worried about disappointing people and/or being sued.

Hopefully, this story will return soon. Hopefully.

 **But wait! There's more! Fanfiction dot net prohibits having author notes as chapters without actual story content! (And though I may have broken this rule once or twice...)**

* * *

Shinwoo yawned, putting a hand over his mouth, the beeping of his watch drowned out by the background noise.

He was currently at the train station, propping his elbow on the handle of his wheeled suitcase.

 _Man, where are they...?_ Shinwoo had to stifle another yawn. _The train's going to be here soon and_ —

"What the actual fuck?" Shinwoo asked aloud as Kuroo, Saki, Soomi, and Rin all lined up with their hands behind their backs. Kuroo was grinning playfully, whilst Saki was on the verge of tearful laughter beside an embarrassed Soomi and an exasperated Rin.

"For the record," Rin suddenly said as they all lifted up their fingers and knees in a strange crane-like position, "I lost a bet."

"Shinwoo, Shinwoo, he's our man!" Kuroo, Saki, Soomi and Rin (but mostly the former two) all blurted, mimicking the cries of Shinwoo's basketball fangirls. "If he can't do it, no one can!"

Stiffening, Shinwoo grabbed his suitcase and began to walk away, seemingly constipated judging by how restrained his pace was. "I don't know these people."

"Shinwoo, come back!"

"Shinwoo-nii!"

"Oi, tightass, wait for us!"

Rin muttered something under her breath. "This is absolutely ridiculous... An obligatory beach episode? Please!"

* * *

 **And... cut. And this will be part of an actual episode in the main story, even after major revisions I'm considering doing, including the possible removal of Makoto if he doesn't fit in well enough. But this is extremely unlikely because removing him would mean removing Soomi as well, as their backstories intertwine.**


End file.
